Outcast
by XanonymousXX
Summary: Hunted by his own kind, injured, alone, accused of a murder of a prince of hell he did not commit, Sebastian Michealis escapes from Hell's prisons in an attempt to restore both his name and his rank by catching the real killer while trying to avoid the demons out for his head. Though, he seems to find more problems than he solves.
1. Back in Inferno

Ah... Thank you all for deciding to give this story a chance. it means a lot to me. Do feel free to review if you liked it, or even if you didn't. It all helps in the writing process anyway.

I would just like to thank a certain Phantomhive Child for supporting me and offering her opinions on this story, but also the readers who decided to give this story a chance, so thank you all :D

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A dark aura followed Sebastian around that day. He thought little of it, choosing to concentrate on his butler duties. It was rather unsettling, and he was slightly disturbed by it, though he didn't show it. However, the presence seemed to only grow stronger, and by the time he had put Ciel to bed he could ignore it no longer.

He stepped out of his bedroom quietly, shutting the door carefully before sprinting off into the nearby forest, where the aura was the strongest. He arrived at a clearing, and looked around carefully, a knife already in his hand. He had taken only one step forward when he heard a hunting horn sounding.

He cursed his foolishness as he was surrounded by soldiers, clad in the armour of Hell's soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?!" He snarled at them, considering taking to the skies in the hopes of outrunning them, though the telltale glint of metal from the trees hinted of archers, and he crossed off that option

A dark chuckle greeted his words. The soldiers parted smoothly to allow another demon to make his way to Sebastian, the nearest saluting him stiffly. Based on his armour and the way the others had reacted, he was clearly not an ordinary soldier.

"Agares!" Sebastian snarled. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Slowly his true form started to show itself, small horns sprouting on his head, his normal attire fading away to reveal his demonic garb, all skin-tight leather and buckles. Giant, black wings sprouted out of his back at almost the same time as his teeth lengthened into fangs and his shoes were replaced by high heeled boots. His tail appeared, flicking nervously.

The General, Agares, chuckled. "You have no power now, Prince Malphas. Your title is temporarily revoked, as you are to appear before the royal court to be prosecuted."

Sebastian was slightly confused by this. "What crime have I committed to be brought before my brothers for judgement?" He asked, as his eyes flickered over the soldiers, trying to think of a means of escape. The glint of metal in the tress hinted of archers, so flying wasn't an option.

Agares smiled. "You shall soon see. I highly suggest not resisting arrest. You will be brought to your knees soon enough," Sebastian finished his mental head count. There had to be at least two legions of soldiers there. He inwardly laughed.

"I won't go down without a fight."

"We shall see," Agares hissed.

The demons charged.

To his credit, Sebastian fought them off for two full minutes before he was overwhelmed. He hadn't been harmed too badly. The soldiers on the other hand, had suffered tremendous losses, more than half of them incapacitated.

He had fought elegantly. Beautifully, even. Smirking as he put his foot through one's head, and several knives through others. They wouldn't die, but would take a few hours to regenerate. No matter how many took down, more simply replaced them.

Finally, he was forced onto his knees before Agares, hands and wings bound by cursed rope. No matter how much he struggled, the ropes wouldn't break, and instead burned his skin. The general smirked as he bent down and flicked his forehead. Sebastian glared at him, and opened his mouth to hurl an insult at him, but was immediately hit on the head by something blunt. A trickle of blood flowed down his face.

He shut his mouth again, but still continued to glare at Agares, despite him not even looking at Sebastian. His back was turned as he supervised some other soldiers opening a portal back to hell.

Sebastian glanced around, meeting the gazes of various soldiers. Some were pitiful, others hateful. Most immediately adverted their gaze, too afraid to meet the eyes of a Prince, dishonored or not.

After a little while, Sebastian was yanked up by his hair and forced towards the portal, head tilted back and neck exposed. He snarled, unused to the rough treatment, but only got another blow on his head for his troubles. "Shut your mouth," a gruff voice commanded him, pushing him through the portal.

He landed face first on thorough floor of the central atrium, the high court of Hell. He struggled to his feet, unable to make use of his hands and wings. He looked around, curious despite himself. Guards blocked the doors, looking menacingly in his direction.

In front of him, on a raised platform forming a semicircle, his brothers sat, the other six princes of hell. He noted with a slight sense of dread that his usual seat, on the far right corner of the platform, where he sat when he passed judgement on other demons with his brothers, had been removed. The princes sat, glaring down at him with their blood-red eyes and masked coolness, betraying nothing of their true emotions. The atrium was fuller than normal, the demons who had gathered there to watch whispering excitedly.

Prosecutions were considered amusement in Hell, but today everybody was much more tense, seeing as how a prince was about to be judged. Everyone knew that no matter how small a crime committed, the penalty would be severe, even more so for one of royal blood.

The guards banged their spears against the floor, calling for silence. The chatter died down and everyone sat looking solemn once more. Vassago, the High Prince, stood up. "The trial for Prince Malphas will now commence," he announced, gazing at the audience.

The second prince, Orobas, looked down at a piece of parchment placed before him. "Prince Malphas, you have been summoned to this court today to be judged for your rash actions that have resulted in the death of another. Not only that, but one of your brethren, an infant prince of Hell!"

The crowd collectively gasped, and Sebastian was stunned. Another prince? He had not heard of such a thing. "When, pray tell, has there ever been another prince?" He asked, looking at Orobas coolly, though a flicker of confusion did cross his features.

Orobas slammed his hands down onto the table before him. "Do not lie, Malphas!" He roared. "You murdered the newly born prince, your own blood brother!" Another prince, Stolas, quietly coaxed him back into his seat, where he sat glaring at Sebastian.

"I do not lie!" Sebastian said, offended that he would be accused of such a thing. "I have had no word of another Prince being born!"

Immediately, sacred markings around the pentagon where he stood glowed golden, sending a powerful shock wave through him, causing his knees to buckle as an anguished cry came from his lips. Sebastian was not lying, but yet the magic had activated. He stood up shakily, scared that he had been punished for telling the truth.

Orobas sneered. "Several messengers were sent to find you, and all have reported that you acknowledged the birth. When you did not turn up for the coronation of a new prince, we assumed that it was because of your contract. Never did we expect you to be absent due to your own jealousy."

The third prince, Gaäp, cleared his throat and took over. "We saw several of your black feathers around the royal cradle, as well as ravens and crows. They took off as soon as we entered. The prince was dead. Poisoned. He had not even been named yet," he said, a quiet anger in his voice.

Sebastian flinched. It was true that he had control over those creatures, but he wasn't the only demon with that ability. Thankfully, the black feathers could prove nothing. Most demons had them.

"Gaäp!" He cried. "I do not lie! It wounds me that my even my own brothers doubt me!" Another shockwave was sent through him, and he fell to the ground once more, too weak to stand. The magic not only inflicted pain, but drained the demon's life force at the same time.

"Liar," hissed Gaäp. "Indeed," Orobas agreed. "You know just as well as the rest of us that there can only be seven Royal Princes in the court at any one time, and that you would be the one most likely to be replaced. And th-"

He turned to face one of his brothers who was nervously tapping him on his shoulder as they quietly whispered in his ear. He nodded grudgingly after listening for a few moments, only to start arguing with him quietly. Sebastian strained his ears to listen from where he lay, but couldn't catch any of it.

"Mother?" A high, childlike voice called from the front row. "Why won't Prince Malphas get up?" The demon's mother shushed him, all too aware of the consequences of actually defending the defendant.

"Your highness!" The voice called worriedly. "Please get up!" The Princes were now engaged in a quiet discussion among themselves over what the fate of their brother would be. The rest of the atrium was silent, watching the child.

He kept calling for Sebastian to get up, almost begging, despite his mother's attempts to shush him, until finally she lost her patience and clamped a hand over his mouth, effectively muffling his words.

By this time the Princes had finished arguing and were staring at him. "Yes, Malphas. Get up and face your punishment like a Prince should," Orobas mocked, smirking. Sebastian glared at him and stood up slowly after a long pause, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead and mingling with the blood that had yet to dry up.

Vassago handed a piece of parchment to a waiting demon. The Royal Executor of Decrees, Alastor. He cleared his throat loudly. "Prince Malphas is hereby found guilty of the murder of one of his own brothers, a Royal Prince Of Hell, on the belief that it would assure him of his throne in the High Court. His title is revoked, and is sentenced to a public execution that will neither be short nor pleasant," some demons clapped, though most remained silent, torn between amusement and the sadness that they were about to lose two of the royal family within a week of each other.

"Should," he added, a hint of amusement in his eyes, "He manage to escape, he is to be killed on sight. Any demon who brings back proof of his death will be rewarded greatly. That is what has been decided by the Princes of Hell. The trial is over."

"I did not kill him!" Sebastian protested again, and immediately the magic pentagon was activated, more powerful than before. He crumpled, this time staying down, though his eyes were still alert. He had barely any energy to remain conscious.,

"Liar..." Hissed the fourth Prince, Seere. "I am disappointed. Take him away! His execution date will be soon set." With that, the trial was over, and the Princes left the courtroom. The crowd slowly left, and the little demon who had begged Sebastian to get up could do little more than hide his tears.

Soon, he was dragged to his feet again, though he made no move to remain standing. A guard walked him to his cell, though wasn't overly violent. As the cell door was being closed, Sebastian looked up and met his guard's eyes.

"I am sorry, your highness." The guard whispered softly, closing the door.

He examined his prison thoroughly. It was covered in power suppressing runes, effectively making him human.

Sebastian sat down on the cold metal bunk, defeated and depressed. His brothers had abandoned him, his title was gone. He wasn't a Prince any longer, instead a disgraced criminal. He leaned his head against the wall and wept quietly.


	2. Exiled prince

Thank you, dear reader, for deciding to not abandon my story after the first chapter. (Trust me, it means a lot) So without further ado, I present to you the second chapter of Outcast. Reviews are welcome ((psst, I always accept anonymous reviews!))

I would just like to thank Phantomhive Child, again, and , for supporting this fic and being great friends :D

And also Rianne. Dogs, who also helped me through the fic!

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Sebastian looked up, cracking open one eye when his cell door was opened. He had no idea how much time had passed, but it could hardly have been a day. He hadn't expected his execution to be so soon, but was somewhat happy. At least he wouldn't be disgraced for long.

The demon who came in gave him a hurried bow. "I apologize for doing this, your highness," he said quietly, attaching a collar around his neck before clipping a leash to it. Sebastian noted that this was the same demon as before, and also that the collar had more power suppressing runes.

"Prince Seere ordered it," he said quietly, starting to lead him out of the cell.

Ah. How well that explained things. That power hungry brother of his always enjoyed being dominant, gloating over the failures and embarrassment of others. Seeing his brother being treated like a dog would amuse him.

Walking past rows of prison cells, he saw demons of the lowest class. The filthiest, most hated criminals of Hell. He kept his head held high, glaring at each one with blood-red eyes until sooner or later, they backed down. Shinigami were stuck there as well, most looking for means of escape. Prisoners of war. Most would be killed, or sold off as exotic pets. Sebastian smirked despite himself as he thought of that red haired reaper or his boss being a demon's plaything.

He recalled passing judgement on most of them, Shinigami and demons alike. Torture for eternity. Demotion to lowest class. Plaything for his brothers. He shuddered at the last one, remembering how the howls and screams of pain coming from the room as his Seere had laughed and laughed.

Sebastian flinched when he heard a scream coming out of a lower dungeon. His guard was also startled, yanking on the leash and nearly choking him. He couldn't apologize in the presence of other demons, keeping silent, praying that the Prince wasn't angered by it. Sebastian glared at him, but held his tongue in check.

Sebastian was led back into the central atrium, a gag hurriedly stuffed into his mouth before he entered. This time a slightly raised platform had been added to the center. Torture devices lay in the corner. He quietly noted that more chairs had been added to the atrium, and yet again, was fully packed with demons. His brothers smirked from where they sat, fully aware that one of their own was going to be tortured and yet doing nothing to stop it.

Sebastian was led onto the platform, then his hands were chained to two poles driven into the ground, and his feet bound together, leaving him in a crucifix like position. Thankfully nothing was done to his wings apart from the cursed ropes being cut. He sighed, flapping them, letting the blood circulate around.

"Begin the interrogation," Vassago ordered, emotionless and monotonously, professional and efficient. He had been trained well.

Sebastian looked up. Interrogation?

"I thought we'd give you a chance to properly explain your actions," Seere said, happiness reflected in his eyes. "It might lessen your sentence, Malphas," he added, delighting in not using his title to address him.

"I did not do it," Sebastian said best he could through the gag, looking at his brothers.

"He lies..." Gaäp said quietly, "Punish him." A demon stepped out of the shadows, holding a whip in his hand, its end knotted skillfully. Sebastian recognized him immediately. The royal interrogator, Phenex.

He moved behind Sebastian, taking hold of one of his wings. "I never thought I'd have to do it to you, your highness," he murmured quietly before bringing the whip down on his wing, the sound echoing loudly around the atrium.

Sebastian felt nothing for a moment, then he felt the burning pain of the wound Phenex had inflicted upon him, the knot only helping to maximize it. "Mmph!" He screamed, the gag muffling the curses that he was hurling at his brothers.

"Do you still deny it?" Seere asked loudly, allowing a small smile to grace his lips. Oh, to see his own brother so helpless was a rare treat indeed.

Sebastian stared his brother straight in the eye. He nodded once, and Vassago sighed, but motioned for Phenex to continue. He raised his whip high and brought it down on Sebastian's other wing, along the bone. The wound was deep enough to show the white bone beneath. Sebastian couldn't resist crying out, though for some reason a part of his brain couldn't resist admiring Phenex's skill.

Again and again, Sebastian was questioned, denying it time after time, each time being punished more harshly, until he was a bleeding, broken mess of feathers, blood, and in some places, bone. He looked up at his brothers, still glaring at them defiantly.

"Brother..." Vassago said, not unkindly. "Admit to your sins and your punishment will be lessened considerably." Sebastian laughed harshly, before coughing and staining the gag a bright maroon colour.

He started saying something, but stopped when he realized that no one could hear what he was saying. Gaäp motioned for the gag to be removed.

"You forget that I have been in this court passing judgement on others nearly as much as you," he said quietly, his eyes glinting. "The moment I admit to the accusations is the moment you will kill me." Orobas growled and motioned for Phenex to proceed. As he raised the whip, Phenex was stopped by another.

"Enough!" Stolas commanded, the youngest next to Sebastian. "Stop it this instant!" His face was pale, his knuckles white form where he was gripping the table. Seere glared, but Vassago nodded approval after glancing at him. "Very well. You have done well, Phenex. Leave him, we will continue tomorrow."

Scowling, Seere swept out of the courtroom, his cloak billowing around him.

The other princes slowly filed out behind him, Stolas pausing to throw a sympathetic glance towards his fallen brother. They audience wasn't so quick to leave, most still gaping and staring at their dishonored Dark Prince. A guard came and untied him, catching him as he fell forward. Sebastian looked up and noticed that it was the same guard yet again. He flushed and attempted to stand, using him as support. He'd be damned if he were going to let himself be carried out.

The guard helped him back to his cell, dropping the tough guy act as soon as they were out of the courtroom and away from the eyes of the public. He helped Sebastian dress his wounds, apologizing again and again. Sebastian leaned his head against the wall, panting. He trembled slightly, the newfound fear of his brothers written across his face.

"Your highness," the guard whispered quietly. "Are you alright?" He had done his best treating his wounds, but was by no means a healer. Sebastian nodded weakly. The demon looked relieved.

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked, curious. The demon smiled, but offered no name. Instead, he pressed a piece of paper into Sebastian's palm and hurried away. Sebastian read it, then smiled and crumpled the note, tearing it into infinitely tiny pieces before swallowing the lot and grimacing slightly. He sighed, closing his eyes. He knew how to escape now.

Sebastian waited patiently, trying not to move too much. Finally, he heard three knocks on his door before it was opened, footsteps hurrying away. He slowly limped to it, wincing. He poked his head out of the door but saw no one, taking advantage of the absence of guards to make his escape. Soon after he had escaped horns sounded, warning guards of a certain Prince. Sebastian quickened his pace, though it didn't amount to much speed.

He soon came to a forest, using his animal-like senses to navigate towards a certain spot. A portal back had been prepared, though it was time activated and would close soon. He found it easily enough and ported back to earth, landed safely inside his room in Phantomhive Manor, though he hissed as he landed, his wounds not healing.

Irritated, he realized that the collar was still on him, attempting to yank it off. Instead of snapping into two, the collar's runes glowed and burnt his fingers, causing him to yelp. He looked at the wound, then realized that it was pointless trying to remove it. He slowly made his way to Ciel's study, stopping often to rest. He knew that he was in his true form but made no move to shape shift back, knowing that he'd only be punished by the collar.

Pressing his ear to the door, he heard two voices conversing quietly. One was obviously Ciel, but the other was harder to tell. It was certainly familiar, but was impossible to pinpoint who it belonged to. He waited patiently, but only managed to catch snatches of their conversation, and that didn't amount to much

He leaned heavily against a wall, silently debating whether to make his presence known or not. He failed to notice the sound of footsteps approaching the door until it was thrown wide open. The first thing he noticed was the royal insignia on the person, no, demon's chest.

Sebastian panicked when he saw it, believing a kill-on-sight order had been issued for him. The his gaze travelled upwards, and he tensed even more when he saw his face. It was Stolas' personal messenger. Sebastian pressed himself against the wall, finding no way to run or fight the messenger. He stared at the demon, wondering if he was here to kill or capture him.

Needless to say, Sebastian was surprised when the messenger dropped onto one knee, keeping his gaze leveled at the floor. "You highness!" He breathed. "I'm so glad you made it back safe! Prince Stolas will be pleased," He finally dared to glance at Sebastian, and his eyes widened when he saw the collar clamped onto his neck. "Prince Malphas!" He cried softly.

Any further questions were avoided when Ciel came into view. His one eye visibly widened when he saw the state that his beloved butler was in. Abandoning all his dignity, he walked over and hugged him around his middle. Sebastian winced from the contact, but didn't stop him. Ciel suddenly detached himself from Sebastian, blushing when he realized what he'd done in the presence of another demon.

"Naverius told me everything," he said, visually examining Sebastian's wounds. He didn't seem at all fazed at his butler's unusual clothing choices. "I'm glad you're alive." Some emotion had found its way into his voice, causing it to crack slightly.

"Young master..." Sebastian started, before his knees gave out under him. He gave a strangled cry as he fell.

"Prince Malphas!" Naverius cried, kneeling down beside him just as Ciel did, both worried for his health.

"Does he have a room here?" He asked Ciel hurriedly, already starting to carry the unconscious young prince. Ciel nodded and quickly led him to Sebastian's room, where Naverius immediately started healing him, though that did little other than relieve some of the pain for a little while. "Your highness..." He murmured over and over again as he worked. He wasn't so much concerned for his health as to the fact that he had been ordered by Stolas to assist his younger brother to the best of his ability.

Ciel stood nearby, watching helplessly. He sat down on a chair and (literally) twiddled his thumbs as Naverius worked. Finally, Sebastian's eyes shot open and he bolted up, only to see bright stars dancing before his eyes. He suppressed a moan and put his hand to his head.

Ciel was beside him in an instant, pouring him a glass of water. "Sebastian..." He choked out, unable to keep the relief out of his voice. Sebastian struggled to sit up. "I apologize that you have to see me in such a state," he said quietly, accepting the glass of water gratefully.

"Your highness," Naverius said urgently. "You must flee. The collar clasped unto your royal neck has had a tracking spell cast unto it. Your brothers will be after your blood. Prince Stolas has promised to deter them to the best of his ability, but you know that the others will not be fooled for long."

Sebastian's eyes saddened for a moment. He remembered how he had often taken part in the same sport of hunting wanted demons with his brothers, delighting in making them beg for their lives. Never did he expect that he would be the criminal on the run.

"The reward for your capture is," Navelius hesitated, unsure if he should tell him in his weakened state. "The demon who captures you, or kills you and brings back proof, get a promotion through Hell's caste system." Sebastian stared at him. Jumping from one's caste to another was a near impossible feat. "And if they capture you they also get to keep you as... As a pet," he added softly.

"Hunted like an animal..." Sebastian murmured quietly, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and starting to get up. He flapped his wings slowly, wincing at the jolt of pain that shot through it. He closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself as the world spun.

"Sebastian?" Ciel asked worriedly, taking a step forward only to be stopped by a gloved hand. "I'm fine," Sebastian breathed, starting towards the door. "I must leave, or I will endanger you with my presence. Navelius, you have done well."

Navelius hesitated. "Your highness... You should not be moving in your condition..." Sebastian turned to glare at him. "And what?! Let the occupants of the manor, including yourself, be killed on account of hiding a wanted criminal?! I will not allow that, and will do everything in my power to hunt down the real killer, and bring justice to the world!"

Ciel smirked. "Brave words, Sebastian," he commented dryly. "But don't lie. We all know that you're doing this to restore your position in Hell, not for justice or whatever reason your deluded mind has come up with." Sebastian scowled, though didn't oppose him, and walked out of the room.

As soon as he had left, Ciel deeply regretted what he had said and chased after him after some time, leaving Navelius to wonder how he was going to explain what happened to Stolas.

Sebastian wheeled around as he heard the thundering of hooves on the dirt road behind him. He narrowed his eyes. The path he was on was rarely used, so he hadn't expected to run into anybody. He relaxed slightly when Ciel came into view, leading a second horse from where he was seated on his.

"Sebastian!" Ciel panted. He slipped out of the saddle, landing with a muffled thump on the dirt road. "At least take the horse. It will bring you to wherever you need to go much more... More quickly," he said, struggling to keep emotion out of his voice. "There is a cloak in the s-saddle bag. I thought it might... help hide you wings. I wish... Wish you luck in... Finding the real murderer."

Sebastian was touched, to say the least. He knelt down so that he was level with Ciel. "Young master," he said firmly, looking him in the eyes. "Thank you very much. I am sorry I was not able to stay by your side like I promised, and I have failed you as a butler by doing so, but I will return as soon as I am able. With pride and honour, and my throne in Hell."

Ciel nodded mutely, his eyes starting to water though he did his best to hide this fact. He should have known it would be useless. Sebastian hesitated, seemingly reaching out to hug him, then drew back as he remembered their positions. He mounted his horse, much less gracefully than normal, though it could not be helped under the circumstances.

"Goodbye for now, my lord," he said softly, before wheeling his horse around and galloping out of sight, kicking up dust clouds behind him.

A single tear fell from Ciel's eye. "You liar..." He whispered softly to himself, hands clenched and trembling slightly. "You said that you'd never leave my side..." More tears fell to the ground, Ciel staring at the empty space that his butler had been in only a moment before.


	3. A price he cannot pay

Sebastian pulled the cloak more tightly around himself, cursing the stupid collar around his neck yet again. He had stopped to rest many times already, both for his own health and for his horse's, yet both were winded again. She was a strong midnight-black mare, but the constant running was wearing her down. Sebastian himself was on the brink of unconsciousness, the emergency healing Narvelius had administered starting to wear off. He kept riding nonetheless, fearing for his life if he dared to stop.

His hands slipped, and he panicked, turning the mare sharply towards the left, in the general direction of the Trancy Manor. Sebastian wanted to turn away, but felt the thought of a brief stay in a safe area too appealing to resist, knowing that the presence of other demons would help mask his scent for at least a little while. He just hoped that would had not spread to Claude about his situation yet.

As he approached the main gate, he started to see black spots dancing in front of him, and his body went limp, slipping from the saddle and landing hard on the ground, the cloak parting to reveal his wings. The mare reared up and whinnied loudly upon discovering that her master had been thrown off. The sound carried easily into the Trancy estate, alerting the household of his arrival.

The triplets simultaneously poked their heads out of the front door, starting to whisper excitedly upon seeing the Prince collapsed on the ground, the mare still neighing for help. Hannah appeared next, clasping a hand to her mouth as she saw him. She immediately ordered them to assist him, the triplets moving Sebastian into a spare room.

She alerted Claude, who came down immediately to see if Prince Malphas was truly there. His mind started calculating the odds and favors upon seeing Sebastian lying on the couch, starting to stir. He could get a wonderful reward if he managed to capture him, yet...

Something stopped him. Was it the idea of actually hurting one of the royal bloodline, an idea too horrendous for most demons to stomach? Or was it because of something else? A mutual respect for him that prevented Claude from harming him in his weakened state?

Cursing himself for his weakness, Claude went over to the Prince. "Malphas..." He called out, helping him to sit up. Sebastian sat up slowly, then stared at Claude. "You'll capture me?" He asked weakly, though it was more of a statement of fact.

Cluade thought himself insane when he shook his head. "I can't bring myself to do it, Malphas," He admitted quietly. "Despite how much I loathe you, I cannot see you actually killing another Prince. So no, I will not kill you."

Sebastian nodded slowly. "I appreciate it, Faustus," He said genuinely. Claude held up a hand to stop him. "I may think that way, but I cannot speak for Hannah and the triplets, though from how she treated you I will assume that she feels the same way."

Sebastian nodded. "Thank you deeply. I will take my leave as soon as possible. Or rather... As soon as I am able." He looked at his injuries, noticing how the cuts and bruises had mostly been reopened again, and how some of them looked infected. He winced.

Claude gestured to a small bedside table. "Use as much as you need," He said, walking out of the room. Sebastian reached over to the table, slowly bandaging his wounds. There was a small cup filled with a bubbling purple liquid. He lifted it up and sniffed it, smelling cinnamon, lavender, ginger, and lotus, among other things. The essential ingredients in a pain relieving potion. It wouldn't speed up the healing process. Rather, it would numb him from any pain that the wounds caused. He hesitated, debating whether the side effect of slightly dulled senses was worth it.

He finally steeled himself and drank it all down, gagging at the horrendous taste. It worked, and a few moments later the pain disappeared, though he retained his mobility and alertness. He began treating his wounds, scowling when he realized that they hadn't even begun healing.

Sebastian had just finished bandaging his wings when Claude ran into the room. "The guards are here!" He said urgently, tossing him his cloak. The sound of hunting horns filled the air. Based on their richness and tone, Sebastian could tell that one of his brothers had come with the convoy.

Sebastian got up, and Claude helped him to the stables as he hurriedly put on the cloak, flattening his wings as close to his body as possible. Sebastian mounted his horse quickly, silently thanking Claude.

"Go into London. I'm sure the undertaker will know something about it. He always does whenever Alois and I go to him for help. Surely you know this?" Sebastian nodded, locking eyes with him. "Thank you," He whispered. Claude heard the guards calling for him, and disappeared into the manor once again.

Sebastian nudged his horse forward, picking up a gallop as he entered the forest. Two hearts combined into one as horse and rider worked to reach London. Merely a single ghost weaving between the trees, everything was silent except for the breath of the mare, who was feeling the urgency of her master and running to her full strength, feeding off the silent encouragement Sebastian was giving her.

As he slipped elegantly from the saddle, giving her an affectionate pat, she whinnied softly before going to a nearby trough and sucking thirstily at the cool water. Sebastian smiled gently before stepping into the shop, a cheery bell announcing his arrival.

Undertaker rose out of a coffin, stretching luxuriously. "What business could you have at this ungodly time of night?" He mumbled somewhat sleepily. Sebastian stared at him. He hadn't expected Undertaker to be asleep. He stood there, somewhat stunned. Undertaker too, looked stunned after seeing Sebastian's mangled appearance, dried blood staining some parts of his clothes. He chuckled softly when his eyes drifted over the cursed collar, it's runes glowing softly.

"I... Uhh... Sorry to intrude, but I was hoping that you'd be able to provide me with some information regarding a murder..." Sebastian muttered, his face flushing when he realized how much of a sorry mess he must look. Hie pride certainly was taking a stomping this fine day.

When he looked up again, Undertaker was already sitting on his desk munching on a bone-shaped cookie. "Want one?" He offered, smirking. "Since you're already a dog, you might as well get accustomed to their food~" Sebastian growled, but held his tongue.

"Very well... You know what I require in exchange for that," Undertaker said, crossing his legs and eating another cookie. "Or are you not able to, in your present condition?" He raised an eyebrow, then giggled. "my, my, butler, I never expected to see you come crawling to me in this state."

Sebastian clenched his fists, half glaring at him, then calmed himself. No, getting angry now wouldn't do him any good.

He nodded. "I'm afraid I can't seem to think of anything at the moment, though rest assured, I will repay my debt as soon as I am able to." Undertaker looked slightly disappointed, but understood. "Before we get onto business, perhaps you would like to sit next to the fire? You look dead on your feet. Surely you know that the collar on your neck prevents you from using any of your demon abilities? You are a human, nothing more." He smirked again before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Sebastian was indeed felling chilled, and so sat next to the fire, feeling weak and useless. He held his tongue, but his eyes absolutely blazed. He'd killed out of sheer pride before.

That point was hit home as Undertaker draped a warm blanket, an actual blanket, over his shoulder and he found himself reaching up to pull it more tightly around himself. "What murder do you speak of?" He asked in all seriousness.

"A newborn Prince of Hell was murdered by someone, but because of lack of evidence, and because I was conveniently lacking a solid alibi, I was blamed. I was wondering whether you knew anything about that," Sebastian explained, pulling the blanket closer to himself. He neglected to mention the fact that some of his brothers weren't particularly fond of him and would pounce on the chance of kicking him out of Hell.

"Sorry," Undertaker said, bending down to stroke the fire. "I'm afraid I don't concern myself with the matters of the demon race. However..." He straightened, revealing the now roaring fire. "Have you ever thought that shinigami might have done it? Perhaps as a means to collapse hell from the inside out."

Sebastian sat thinking, unconsciously attempting to manipulate the flames. All he got for his troubles was a searing burn from the collar. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Undertaker warned, waggling his finger like one would at a naughty child. "Every time you do that the demons hunting you get updated on your location. You're lucky this shop is protected with spells."

Sebastian's head snapped up. So that's how they'd managed to catch him so far. He suddenly grew suspicious. "Why would you spill the secrets of your race to a demon like me?" He asked cautiously.

Undertaker smiled mysteriously, smirking slightly. "I have no use for this information. Besides, it is amusing to see you so desperate. It isn't everyday that I get to see such a spectacle."

Sebastian nodded slowly, then sneezed. Undertaker looked at him, a mix of worry and bemusement on his face. "Do take better care of yourself," He said offhandedly. "You're my only source of entertainment now. Can't have you dying before the story ends, can I?"

Sebastian nodded, shifting slightly closer to the fire. "So now do I hunt down a shinigami?" He asked undertaker. "I'm afraid I can't see myself taking on one of them and winning, even Sutcliffe." It was a major blow to his pride, admitting that he'd probably lose in a battle with Grell, but it was the truth and he saw no sense in denying it.

Undertaker chuckled. "I can't see you doing that either. Sorry, butler, but it's the truth. You'll die without your powers. Your best bet would be to have stealth on your side, capturing one as he, perhaps she, comes to reap a soul." He looked at the clock. "I just happen to know that someone is scheduled to die in a few hours. And that the shinigami sent to reap his soul is a initiate with barely any training at all. Why don't you rest until then?"

Sebastian stared at him. "How do you know that?" He asked curiosity, slight suspicion in his voice again. Undertaker winked, though this wasn't noticeable with his fringe. "I know somebody," was all he said as he slipped outside to tend to Sebastian's horse.

I know somebody... The words rung in Sebastian's ears as he fell asleep, unconsciously curling up into a fetal position. He was shaken a waken awake about fours hours later. Still bleary-eyed and sleepy, he slowly sat up. Undertaker smiled at him.

"The murder is set to take place at about two blocks down the street. I trust you can make it that far on your own?" He said, eyeing Sebastian's exhausted appearance. Sebastian nodded before getting up and heading towards the door. "Thank you for your help," He said, turning back for a moment. Undertaker waved. "Be sure to make it amusing!" He called out as the door closed.

"Amusing huh?" Sebastian murmured as he set off, leaving his horse back with Undertaker. He waited patiently in the shadows, watching the occasional drunkard passing by keenly. Finally, one particularly drunk man appeared, chasing after a young woman. She tripped, landing face first on the concrete, before he shot her once in the head then stumbled away, mumbling something incomprehensible.

Her soul smelt tantalizing, not as good as Ciel's, of course, but better than normal. Sebastian had to restrain himself from moving forward, even slightly. A young brunette appeared, leaping from a nearby rooftop onto the ground beside her. He sighed. "Well then... Let's get it over with. Stupid lack of personnel... Fieldwork isn't even something I want to do." He began watching her cinematic record, oblivious the the demon prince behind him.

Sebastian took this as his chance and pounced, tackling the shinigami. The shinigami was caught off guard, but hurriedly did what every academy instructor had drilled into him- Press the emergency button on his death scythe. There was one built into every approved death scythe, so that's why it was so important to have a regulation death scythe, in case of emergencies like this.

As the shinigami was starting to lose consciousness forms here Sebastian was gripping his windpipe, several others appeared, including William T. Spears himself. He scowled deeply.

"Ryuuku..." He said, exasperated. "Why did you have to call us out for this? Surely you could have handled this vermin by yourself?" Ryuuku choked as he attempted to explain. Sebastian glanced at the shinigami around him, knowing that there would be no way he'd be able to fight them off.

William pointed his tree clippers menacingly at Sebastian. "I never thought that I'd see your true form, Michealis," he remarked. "Then again, I assume that you're too weak to fight, what with the number of injuries you have." Sebastian scowled. Another blow to his pride, being insulted by a shinigami and not able to do anything about it.

"'Ay boss!" Another youngster called out cheerfully to William. "Remember da' order from the higher ups? About capturing demons to get our POWs back? Ain't he one a' them?" He said, scrutinizing Sebastian closely. William smirked a bit. "Yes, Roy, he is a demon. Very well then, in accordance to the orders passed down, we must capture him. Surely you all can handle that much?" He asked, looking at all of them in turn.

"Yes sir!" They cried eagerly, readying their death scythes. With one swift movement, Sebastian released Ryuuku to focus on the five attacking him. He narrowed his eyes dangerously as they moved to attack.

The battle didn't last very long, seeing as how he was so badly injured and unarmed. He ended up pinned to the ground, two shinigami sitting on top of him. He struggled, but that only served to aggravate his wounds, so he stayed still and growled at William.

William barely looked at him. "You all know where to take him, so move along now. There are still other souls to reap." The initiates nodded, opening a portal and roughly shoving Sebastian through it. He landed in another holding cell, but instead of everything being dark and ominous, everything here was bright and had a scary sterile feel to it. He sat down on the bunk, thinking of ways to escape.

Here he was. Captured. Injured. Abandoned. His pride dragged through the mud then stomped on. Sebastian sighed, putting his face in his hands quietly. He grit his teeth, feeling a burning hatred starting to grow. He made up his mind then, he would make his brothers pay for what they had done. He would kill them.

Slowly and painfully.


	4. Broken Bonds

Hehe this is just a bit of a teaser chapter, about whats going on in hell with our dear princes whilst on the hunt. Or rather, resting from it

* * *

The Princes of Hell were currently seated in the high Court, having temporarily decided to rest from their hunt, they were in a war council. All wore hooded cloaks, bathed in darkness to hide their identities. Their eyes gleamed dangerously as they stared at a giant map dotted with little figures representing legions of demons. Vassago pushed one piece forward.

"The Southern planes have been scouted, revealing malnourished shinigami forces," he stated calmly. "It would be wise to move our troops there."

"Are you insane?!" Orobas argued. "Move out strongest forces there and leave the Western front open to an invasion?! You forget that the reason that we have our troops there in the first place is to deter them from making ground!"

Stolas stared at the board. "The shinigami have been pouring their troops into the Western and Southern fronts, but provisions into only into the West. We should keep there a-"

"No you idiots! I told you, moving our troops there is a stupid and suicidal move! I swear, if we lose this war becau-"

The giant double doors were flung open, a single guard flying through. He dropped onto his knees, his body worn and tired. "Your... Highnesses..." He greeted breathlessly, his voice ragged. From his uniform it was obvious he had just flown from a very distant battle.

"Speak," Orobas commanded from where he was seated, feeling concern for his soldier. "T... The shinigami general w-wishes to... To speak to you... Your highness..." He said, motioning weakly for something behind him.

Two other exhausted demons wheeled in a giant television screen, obviously of shinigami design. The princes scowled, but said nothing. As soon a the screen had been wheeled to the center of the room, a live newsfeed of a high ranking shinigami general started to broadcast.

He was triumphant, convinced he held the key to getting the demons to release his captured soldiers, claiming to have captured something of extreme value to them.

The picture cut to a live broadcast of Sebastian's cell, where a surveillance camera had been placed. He was currently examining every corner of the cell for a means of escape. Finding none, he let out a defeated cry, an animistic sound that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it.

"Surely he is of some importance to you?" The general asked, his voice cutting off Sebastian's scream.

Seere snorted. "He is of no value to us. What made you think that we would release all the shinigami, which number to well over a hundred, in exchange for one demon? If we didn't release them in exchange for legions of our soldiers, why would we do it for merely one demon?" He said emotionlessly.

The general showed surprise. "You do not wish to rescue your own brother?"

Vassago glanced at Stolas, who was clenching and unclenching his fists under the table. He then exchanged looks with his other brothers in turn, some looking uncomfortable while others nodded slowly. "He is no brother of ours," Vassago finally declared. "He is a traitor of Hell and deserves everything that's happening to him."

He felt a twinge of guilt for saying such things. Guilty or not they were still brothers by blood, but he suppressed it and kept his face straight, though the general couldn't see this.

The shinigami sighed melodramatically, then his tone became even darker. "If that's the way it is, then so be it. Your brother will be kept with us, and treated just the same as any shinigami prisoner is being treated by you vermin." With that, he cut the connection.

Orobas looked at the weary soldiers. "Go and rest. You have done well this far. Pray do not give up yet," He said kindly. "B-But Prince Malphas..." One soldier protested weakly. The princes' mood darkened considerably and the soldier gulped.

"Prince Malphas has been sentenced to death and is a wanted criminal," Vassago said patiently. "Though we did not expect you to know of this what with your battles being so far away. Go forth and rest." The soldiers bowed and left, one with a slight limp.

Stolas pulled down his hood, running a hand through his dark red hair. "Surely we can do something to help him?" He asked meekly. Seere glared at him, while Orobas and Gaäp looked on emotionlessly.

"You always were too close to him," Seere remarked coldly. "Don't let your emotions get in the way, Prince Stolas. Malphas is a traitor to Hell and is no longer recognized as one of our own. What happens to him from now on is completely none of our business."

Stolas whimpered softly and slunk down further into his seat, not wanting to attract more attention to himself. "There was no need to be so harsh," Vassago said to him. "Stolas is currently the youngest out of us. He has yet to learn."

"Brother you are being too soft on him!" Seere protested loudly. Suddenly the last prince spoke up. "He's not being too soft on him, you're just being mean. It's the same as with Malphas," Ipos said idly, leaning back placing his feet on the table.

"With how desperate you seem to be on placing the blame on Malphas, how do you assure us that it was not really you who committed the act of treason?" Gaäp asked quietly, his red eyes staring at Seere.

"How dare you accuse me of such!" Seere growled, glaring back at Gaäp. "If there's anyone you should be suspicious of, 'tis Orobas! He was the one who denied Malphas' protest in the first place! And reacted so strongly against him!"

Orobas flared up at that accusation. "What are you trying to imply, Seere?!" He roared at him. "That just because I denied an absurd excuse I am the true murderer?!" The guards at the back of the room exchanged nervous glances.

"Yes!" Seere immediately snapped. "Besides, Ipos is much more suspicious than I am! He didn't even contribute to the trial, sitting there _silently observing_, as he put it. How are we sure that he was not just feeling guilty for committing the murder?"

Ipos' head snapped up, narrowing his eyes. "What the hell are you trying to do? Start a fight?" He snarled softly, then spread his wings in challenge. "You never were a match for me, Seere." Seere snapped , lunging at Ipos and knocking him out of his chair.

Ipose growled in return, engaging in close combat with his brother, every manner of curses and hexes being heard from the tangled mess of claws, fangs, tails and blood. Vassago, Orobas and Gaäp sighed before going over and slowly pulling them apart. Stolas was still in his seat, lost in thoughts.

Orobas had to bodily restrain Seere, while Gaäp held Ipos, quietly calming him down. Vassago stood between them, then sighed, exasperated. "Must you really start a fight now?" He said, his voice deceptively calm.

"I didn't bloody start it!" Ipos snarled, glaring at Seere. "He provoked me!" Seere struggled against Orobas, who sighed tiredly. Vassago motioned for them to go back to their seats. "Malphas murdered the prince and that's it!" He snapped once they were all seated. "There is no need for any of you to doubt the others."

"You sure seem desperate to close the matter," Ipos scoffed. "Maybe you did it, Lord Fair and Justice." Vassago's face reddened and the fury in his eyes intensified. "I will not tolerate such disrespect from anyone!" He snarled, temporarily losing his composure, abruptly standing up and slamming his hand onto the table.

Ipos merely shrugged and leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head contentedly. "Hey hey... No need to start another fight," he said, eyeing Vassago lazily.

Vassago growled at Ipos in warning, then resumed his seat once more, his usual composure returning. "As I was saying," he continued, his voice unusually quiet, but holding hints of deep anger. "The matter is closed. We will not discuss it again. We will not doubt our decisions. Malphas will be alone to deal with the consequences of his actions, and whatever happens, you are not to assist him. Should he manage to flee, we will resume the hunt."

The other Princes nodded, though Stolas took a longer time than the others. Satisfied with their response, Vassago got up and left the council, his cloak billowing out behind him. Seere grumbled as he closely regenerated a chunk of flesh that Ipos had scratched out, while he watched on bemusedly.

Really, it was just another day in Hell.


	5. Hope

Sebastian woke up to the sound of something scraping against a lock. He looked up blearily as the door swung open. He hadn't even known that there was a door, it having blended so well with the walls. He was even more surprised when one particularly loud, annoying, and very, very red shinigami came through.

Grell was dressed in a somewhat revealing nurse's outfit, complete with red cross cap. "This stupid war with the demons... Making me dress in this outfit. So not cute at all!" He carried several rolls of bandages, together with some bottle of medicine. "B... Bassy?" He stuttered upon seeing Sebastian, the bandages and medicines tumbling onto the ground.

"Sutcliffe!" Sebastian gasped, standing up quickly only to get a head rush and sit back down moaning. "I'm... Happy to see you..." He said, somewhat relieved. Grell stopped picking up the scattered items to stare at him. "A... Are you quite alright?" He asked, eying him carefully. "Why are you even in here anyway?"

Sebastian sighed, putting his head in his hands. "That inept boss of yours set his lackeys on me, and obviously I lost and was captured, seeing as I couldn't exactly-" he gestured to his wounds, "-defend myself properly."

"Makes sense." Grell reasoned. "The war's been carrying on for a long time now and the higher ups are getting restless." A smile spread across his face. "I could help you get out, of course..." He started saying. Sebastian looked up at him, curious and suspicious at the same time. "How?" He asked quietly, his voice betraying how desperate he actually was.

Grell shrugged. "Well... Will's been having a headache. He doesn't say anything but we can all tell. The higher ups are demanding a full report of all encounters and for every cinematic record involving you, past contracts and so on, to be reviewed personally by us. He's been taking most of the load so the others won't be overworked." Grell shuddered. Nice William was just as scary in another sense...

"Absolutely dreary vibes in the office! He's been so much more touchy lately. If you escaped... Then they'd be back at square one, with no need to continue reviewing the cinematic records. I'm sure I could rope Will into helping me," He sang. "But obviously... Like other shinigami and demons, I want something in return."

Sebastian winced, both from his wounds and the thought of what Grell could possibly want. "A... Alright..." He said finally. "What do you want in... In return?" Grell shrugged after a moment of thinking, then smirked evilly. "I'll think of something sooner or later."

Sebastian nodded slowly, not liking where this was going at all. "B-But only after I complete what I have to do." He said firmly, looking at him straight in his eyes. Grell thought for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "Alright," He agreed finally.

Grell pointed to the tray of gathered bandages and medicines. "Someone gave me an order to give these to you. Dress your wounds. I swear they aren't poisoned. I'll see you soon Bassy!" With that, he skipped out happily, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sebastian finally felt a small ray of hope. Then it was diminished by the thought of doing something with Grell. Worse still, he had no idea what Grell would want from him and quite frankly, was repulsed and somewhat terrified at what Grell could possibly want from him. Sebastian shuddered, then decided to deal with the matter only when he'd found the culprit. He started to dress his wounds slowly.

*.*.*.*

Grell skipped into the office happily, humming loudly. He stopped abruptly when Ronald hurriedly placed a finger over his lips, gesturing over at William's desk. The dark haired shinigami had fallen sleep in the middle of a literal mountain of reports and files, clearly exhausted. There were bags under his eyes and Grell frowned. When had he last gone home and slept properly?

"He's been pulling all-nighters for several weeks now. Y'know, the influx of deaths from that plague. He refuses to let us help. Now with that demon here... I don't think he'll be able to cope," Ronald said, sighing in concern for his superior.

As Grell was debating whether or not to wake him up, he noticed Eric quietly attempting to snatch away some documents from William's desk, trying to take some of his workload to be shared among the others of the team.

William's hand shot out, gripping his wrist tightly. "Don't you dare," he growled softly. "This is my work. You have yours." Eric raised his hands in mock surrender, backing away slightly. "We've finished ours," He said truthfully. His ever-present partner, Alan Humphries, nodded agreement. "We could help with yours," He said gently.

William shook his head, feeling slightly cornered by his subordinates. "I'm fine," He hissed. "If you want more work, you can start to help sort the death lists." He sat up, straightening his tie and somewhat combing his hair with his fingers. William looked horrible, bags under his eyes and his face looked hollow and slightly lifeless. He sighed irritably and proceeded onto the next document, blinking the sleep away from his eyes.

Grell sidled up beside him, sincerely concerned for the health of his workmate and friend. "This isn't like you Will," He said gently. "You're so touchy nowadays..."

"I am not touchy!" William snapped, proving Grell's point. The other four shinigami looked at him with raised eyebrows. William flushed before burying himself in his work again. "Get back to work!" He snapped again, writing out a report.

Ronald rolled his eyes. "I told you, we've all finished! Okay... Maybe not Grell-Sempai but I did it for him so no harm done!" He said thoughtfully.

"Mister Spears, you really should be taking better care of yourself. This much overtime isn't good for your health," Alan added softly, gently coaxing him to go home and rest, one step at a time. A plan that the rest had tuned in to and were all trying to help with.

"Will!" Grell said, exasperated. "Would you just go home for a day?! It won't kill you!" William didn't even look up as he replied. "No. As for you , Sutcliffe, don't you have souls to reap?"

Grell smirked. "Finished it hours ago. In fact, I've been so free lately that the higher ups have assigned me to look after our demon prisoners. Actually... There's one particular demon that you might be interested in..." He sang, sitting on William's desk and inspecting his nails.

"And who might that be?" William asked flatly, his eyes not leaving the document in front of him.

"Sebastian Michealis… Y'know… The one that's causing you _so _much stress?" Grell asked, carefully watching William out of the corner of his eye. His co-workers were scattered around william's desk, trying their best to pretend to not to be interested in what was happening. William's grip on his pen tightened slightly, and his mouth became a thin line. That was all the reaction he showed, but it was enough for Grell. He reasoned that William was starting to regret following through with his orders to capture him.

Alan regarded this as a chance to get William out of the office. "Anyone could watch the cinematic record," He said gently. "Why don't you go home and rest and let us finish your work?"

William turned and glared at him. "No," He said firmly. "The orders were for me, and me alone, to watch them. Now, back to work!" The other shinigami recognized this tone, and went to do their work, or more accurately, think of a way to get William to rest.

Grell dragged Ronald to a remote corner away from William's earshot.

"Look," He said, looking deadly serious. "He needs rest, whether he admits it or not."

"Well duh!" Ronald said, looking annoyed with Grell for underestimating him. "But how do we do that? And if your plans make me miss out on a party then I'm out."

Grell was _this _close to slapping the younger shinigami. "Ronald..." He said, trying to rein in his temper. "I don't care whether you need to miss a party or two. Don't you think that your boss' health is at least a wee bit more important than your overindulgent lifestyle?" Ronald gulped, realizing how selfish he had sounded, and nodded his head quickly, looking thoroughly abashed.

"Yes, Grell-san," He whispered quietly, not quite meeting Grell's eyes. Grell eased up. "Okay, so you know that the reason for William's overtime is a demon called Sebas- Malphas, right?" He paused until Ronald had given him a small, barely visible nod. "Well, then I need your help to go and release him. You can get the codes to deactivate the trackers, can't you? With all your flirting with the different departments, should be a piece of cake."

Ronald nodded. "Sure thing, I can get them. But... Grell-sempai?" He asked, looking at his senior with a slight look of confusion. "Why do you care so much for William-san suddenly?" He was honestly intrigued.

Grell waved away the sentence laden with implication. "He's my best friend, that's all," he said quietly.

Ronald looked at him with a mild look of amusement in his eyes. "That's strange…" He seemingly mumbled to himself. "It doesn't seem that way." He cackled evilly, thinking of all the teasing he would cause Grell later. Everyone knew that even though it seemed like he really liked and –ahem- wanted William to be his own; it was an act more than anything. Or was it?

Ronald gave Grell another cheeky smirk before scampering down the hallway, obviously going to do what Grell wanted before he decided to punch or snap at him.

Grell, in turn, huffed and turned heel, going to try and coax William to rest, though he knew that his only hope of doing that had just run off to get the information needed. He sighed. If this war with Hell carried on for much longer, whether Sebastian was released or not would make no difference. They were all going to be killed by overwork.

Not that the higher-ups would care, of course. To them, they were just parts in a machine that was supposed to be flawless and effective.

And everyone knew that if one part stopped working, they were replaced without hesitation.

Swiftly and without mercy.

Ronald scuttled around the corner, being forced to slid to a very loud, squeaky stop, landing on his bum in the process, as he nearly rammed into a winged, humanoid creature, dressed completely in white.

He took a moment to regain his bearings, then looked up in confusion. No shinigami should have wings, as for that tacky pale white sui- Oh.

He stared up at the figure before him, still confused. Why business could an angel possibly have with them?

The angel known as Ash Landers smiled apologetically, then offered his hand to Ronald, helping him up.

"Goodness me," He said softly, his voice smooth and flowing. "I'm sorry, Mister... Knox, was it?"

Ronald immediately found himself infatuated with the angel, gaping at him openly. That voice was simply delightful, so smooth and beautiful... just mesmerizing.

The angel noticed this, a faint smirk appearing on his face, before it was replaced by a look of worry. "I didn't hurt you now, did I? Silly me, I should have known that someone would have come along this way..."

Ronald shook his head, still staring at the beautiful male in front of him. "N-No way!" he stuttered out, flushing. "B-But may I ask, what are you doing here, sir?" He added shyly, extremely unusual for him.

"Nothing much, really," Ash said softly, looking around. "I just caught wind that a certain demon was here, held captive. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" For a moment, his voice shifted to that of a female's, and his form flickered slightly as he reached out to gently lift Ronald's chin so that he was looking at him.

It was at that moment that Ronald convinced himself that it was love. The soft blue hair, the gentle androgynous features... And that wonderful, wonderful voice.

"W-Well... We do have one held prisoner... His name is Malphas, or something like that... B-But I'm not supposed to tell you..." He said shyly, directing his gaze off to the side.

Ash's eyes widened slightly as he heard the name, and a smile appeared on his face. This was far more than what he had expected.

"Do you think you could bring him to me?" He almost snapped, then quickly repeated it in a more calm and soothing voice after watching Ronald's face fall into one of slight confusion and realization, as if he had only then realized where he was.

"O-Of course," Ronald said, his voice still a little hesitant, though he obeyed and took Ash to where Sebastian was being kept, his footsteps clumsy and slow, looking like he had been drugged.

Ash smiled, walking behind him and occasionally giving him a short phrase of encouragement to keep him moving along, until they reached Sebastian's prison.

It was quite a feat of engineering, the walls were constructed in such a way that everything inside was visible from the outside, but nothing could be seen from within. Not only that, the walls were tough as nails. Well, not quite. They were much harder than nails, or anything else found in the world, this realm or not. Comprising of a delicate mix of metals found throughout all realms, it was something that nothing, not from a demon sword to an angel's voice, could pierce through.

Ash smiled, then suggested that Ronald open the door for him, which he hurriedly obeyed and did, albeit clumsily. Once again, the door slid open to Sebastian's cell.

Looking up as that happened, the demon had to blink twice to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. "Ash Landers?" He said in disbelief, staring at him in shock and wariness.

Ash smiled at him, inclining his head in a movement of acknowledgement, before he snapped his fingers and Ronald crumpled like a tin can, unconscious.

Smiling as he stepped into the cell. "My my," He said softly, taking in the sight before him. "How long has it been, Prince Malphas? Whatever happened to your pride as a demon, your... self worth, even. Now that you have been forsaken by your brethren, what do you plan to do next? Is it possible that maybe you will finally submit to God's will and be willing to finally give up on your pathetic life? Or mayb-"

"Where are you going with this?" Sebastian interrupted him, glaring heatedly. "I do not require a recap of what happened. Especially not from an angel. So state your business and leave."

Ash tutted. "Impatient, are we?" He half mocked. "Very well then. I do have some business with you. In fact, I'm here to deliver a message to you. Straight from the Archangel Micheal himself."

"And what might that be?" He asked, half curious, but half afraid of what he might hear, though he did his best to suppress that feeling.

"What do we want?" Ash said softly, then chuckled a bit before regaining control over himself. Straight faced, he stared straight at Sebastian and said, "What we want is to offer you a second chance at life."

He then smiled, a soft and welcoming smile, as he offered his hand to Sebastian. A gesture of invitation.

"We want you to join us."


	6. Tainting the pure

"We want you to join us."

Sebastian stared at him, taking a few minutes to process that bit of information and properly form a response.

"What on Earth are you thinking?!" He snarled at him. "To think that I would ever agree to join the likes of you! You, a filthy, disgusting, lowli-"

"I thought we agreed to not call each other names?" Ash said with a smile that was both gentle, yet hinted at a deeper resentment. Sebastian, in turn, quietened down enough to properly think it through.

He paused for a while, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Give me one good reason why I would choose to join you, knowing full well that that is high treason and would get me killed immediately by any demon that comes across me?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

Ash chuckled a bit, then smiled serenely, completely unfazed by the demon's constant attempts to rile him up.

"It is because we want to offer all beings, whether they be humans or demons, a second chance at life, or so Micheal said the Lord wants to do. You should feel honoured, he asked for you to be brought to heaven personally." Ash smiled, as if every question Sebastian had in mind had been answered by that simple statement.

He was therefore not amused when Sebastian rolled his eyes at his little speech, looking at him coldly. "I asked you for a reason on why I would want to join you, not how honoured should I be that you want me to join you."

A flicker of annoyance crossed his features, and he made a quiet prayer for the Lord to grant him patience, and lots of it.

"For one," He started saying, "We'll be able to give you protection, and you will be one among the blessed few in His holy service, and will be cleansed of your filth, filthy vermin that you are. And," He added with a small smirk. "You will be free to pursue demons as you wish, in fact... And maybe, get that collar off you so that you don't look more of a dog than you already do," He said with a smirk.

"It will be your duty and job, to destroy and cleanse all things evil and impure, That is the duty of one of God's chosen. Of the pure. Of angels," He ended off with a happy sigh.

"Where's the stick?" Sebastian questioned him quietly.

"Stick?" Ash asked, confusion written on his face.

"Yes," Sebastian said, nodding quietly. "I see the carrot, so what's the stick?"

Ash's serene smile returned as he finally understood his question. "Nothing, really. You will be cleansed of your sins. You must swear allegiance to god and to the angels, and you must annihilate any demon you see," He said finally, counting them off on his fingers. "That's it, really."

Sebastian thought about it. though out of whatever available options he had, and there weren't many of those. It was either this, or try to escape from the shinigami prisons himself. And even then, what would he do then? He would literally be a sitting duck for his brothers to come after him.

"I'll do it," He said abruptly, after thinking through his limited options.

"Really?" Ash asked, betraying his own surprise. Sebastian nodded, showing no signs of hesitation or fear, and ready to answer any questions asked, but there were none.

"Great!" Ash said happily, then proceeded to open a portal to heaven, offering to help Sebastian up, seeing how many wounds he had all around his body, and wincing slightly in sympathy when he saw the limp, broken wing dragging behind him. They would certainly take more than a few spells to heal that completely.

Hesitating slightly, Sebastian stepped through the portal, into a land unknown to even the most wise of the demon. All except Lord Lucifer himself, and the angels who fell with him, though there were none left save Lucifer himself. he had had them all killed.

As Sebastian exited the portal, he suddenly felt weak, collapsing onto his hands and knees in front of the pearly gates as he clutched at his chest and felt pain flare up all over him.

Ash knelt behind him, curious more than concerned for him. "Are you alright?" He asked softly, his voice seeming even more smooth and melodious, if that was possible, now that he was back in his home realm.

"It... Hurts..." Sebastian gasped out, resisting the urge to scream as he felt his wounds being forced to reopen. Ash suddenly snapped his fingers, remembering something else. He placed his hand over Sebastian and muttered a few words in the Holy Tongue, letting the familiar words roll off him.

Immediately, Sebastian felt better, the wounds closing themselves automatically as the pain receding. If possible, the collar on his neck felt lighter, and when he reached up to tug at it, it fell away easily, the cursed piece of leather soft and supple in his hands. He slowly got up, staring at the collar the whole time, and he quietly pocketed it, feeling his hatred being freed as the collar came off.

Ash stopped the chant once he could be assured that Sebastian was no longer in pain, then helped him up with a small smirk. "The pain gets more intense the more sins you've committed," he said. "Normally, no one with your... Record, would ever be allowed near the gates, but you're a special case. Now come along," with that, he turned and walked through the pearly gates, motioning for him to follow along.

As Sebastian stepped through them he felt a weird mixture of emotions. He felt at peace with himself, calm and content, this seemed to be enforced by the decor of the area, a curious mix between roman architecture and blooming fauna.

On the other hand, he felt the dark anger and hatred in his soul, fueled by the collar in his pocket, which he gripped tightly.

As they walked through the lush paradise that was Heaven, he was surprised to see that there were no others angels apart from Ash. Instead there were little orbs of floating light, and if one leaned in close enough, they would be able to hear soft whispers from them. They tended to drift closer to Ash, but floated away as soon as he waved them away, completely ignoring Sebastian. As one drifted past him serenely, his lips couldn't help but curl up into a slight smile. The tantalizing scent of a soul wafted by, and his eyes widened slightly as he realized all these little orbs were souls, and not just souls, but the most delicate, refined souls he had ever seen. Innocence in its truest form.

As he started to notice Sebastian's hunger and dangerous amount of curiosity, Ash hurried him along through the numerous pathways and towards a the outline of large cathedral, though as he got closer Sebastian realized there were huge satellite-like things popping out everywhere. Seeing his questioning look, Ash laughed.

"It's so that reception's better," he explained with the barest hint of a sneer, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Reception?" Sebastian parroted stupidly, not understanding in the slightest. Damn angels and their vagueness.

Ash nodded, pointing to one of the large windows near the front of the building. peering at it curiously, Sebastian blinked twice. There was an angel seeming to listen to something being said, then scribbling something down, waiting for a few moments, then writing more. This process seemed to repeat itself endlessly. The same could be said for the all the other windows that Sebastian could see, angels doing the exact same thing.

"how else did you think we listened to all the prayers going on in the world?" He said, smirking slightly at Sebastian's ignorance.

"I... See..." He said hesitantly, masking the confusion that his voice betrayed. As Ash led him over to another side path, he explained more.

"Every prayer uttered, is recorded, as long as the holy words are uttered, they will be recorded. Yes, the dishes are that powerful, and yes, if they remind you of shinigami technology, it's because they did the first ideas for their technology from us."

Sebastian nodded, though his breath was once again taken away by the majesty if the scenery they came upon. A lush garden, filled with trees and all kinds of fruit imaginable, gave an air of an awe inspiring wildness. And yet, there was a calming air about. He stopped to glance around, and would have happily stayed there for a long time still, if Ash had not hurried him forward with surprising force.

"Don't worry," he said briskly. "The Garden of Eden does that to most first time visitors. You'll get used to i- Ahh... Here we are," he said with a smile, then they came upon the largest, most beautiful tree Sebastian had ever seen, in all his life and visits between his home realm and the human realm, nothing could compare to this.

A twisting glory of a tree, larger than anything else around it, and clearly more ancient. The fig tree from which Adam and Eve had first sinned. Sebastian smiled remembering that story. He had always found it amusing.

there was a figure resting under the tree, an angel more beautiful than any other he had seen so far. His eyes were closed as he dozed underneath that magnificent tree. His wings were a perfect shade of white, seeming to glow on their own as his halo rested on the ground beside him. A thin, delicate ring of the purest gold. As he walked nearer, the name engraved on it flashed, and Sebastian barely caught it. "Micheal," it read in all its beauty.

Micheal... the Archangel Micheal... Sebastian was surprised that the angel looked so... Ordinary. He had a cherubic face, with full lips and and light brown hair. His clothes were nothing special, a robe of white with a sash of royal purple.

As Sebastian walked closer, he felt a sense of warmth, seemingly radiating off the angel himself, and the clothes he wore. He hissed unconsciously, and withdrew. The glowing souls kept a respectful distance from Micheal, and instead floating about the huge fig tree he was resting under.

Ash forced Sebastian to his knees before bowing politely. "My lord," he murmured softly, bowing deeply in respect. Sebastian's suspicion that the sleeping angel had no heard was countered as he jerked awake, a small smile gracing his lips as he saw Ash... And his guest.

"Prince Malphas," He greeted warmly, his voice velvety and rich, though louder than what would have been called polite. Sebastian resisted the urge to smirk as he heard that. Micheal, the loudest of all angels, the name fitted well. "Such a pleasure to finally meet you," He continued on, getting up and dusting himself off, before offering Sebastian a hand up, which he pointedly ignored. He, for one, was not going to be taken in by his little gestures of friendship.

the angel did not reciprocate Sebastian's hate, and instead simply smiled warmly and pointed to the distance, where a towering gate stood.

"Come," he said warmly. "Let us go to Paradiso." He led the way there, leaving Sebastian and Ash to catch up.

"What's the bloody difference?" Sebastian murmured under his breath, then heard Ash sniggering beside him. ""Heaven" in it's truest sense, is where souls rest. All the little blue orbs? Souls, remember? And they rest here, eternally resting in a dreamless, peaceful sleep. Sooner or later, they all lose their sense of being and dissipate, their essence being returned to the Earth Mother." He stretched out his hand, and a little blue orb drifted towards it. Ash smiled at it, before handing it to Sebastian.

Sebastian held it awkwardly, not sure what to do.

"Listen to it," Ash said softly, his serene smile still on his face, and Sebastian did as he was told, placing it near his ear. Immediately his sense of calm was reinforced by the tiny, angelic voices emanating from the soul, peaceful, wordless singing coming from the soul itself.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He murmured, rudely interrupting Sebastian's thoughts. He picked up the soul and set it adrift again. "The purest of souls lie here... and only the pure can cling onto their existence for long..." SSebastian nodded, unsure of what to say. Ash sighed dreamily, then hurried him along to the gates of Paradiso.


	7. Shattered Ideals

First, thank you for all the support for this story! It really means a lot! Anyways... I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter but I was no fit writing state last week... and so I didn't get to finish it until yesterday. Hope you enjoy though, and as always, feel free to review!

* * *

About two thousand years ago-

Lord Lucifer sat on his royal throne, lazily drumming his fingers on the throne as he awaited news of his child's birth. Scattered around him were his other children, at least those that were still in line for the throne.

Vassego, the crown prince at the time, sat nearest to the throne and was just as calm and collected as his father, though occasionally his composure was broken as he glanced at his father.

The younger children sat around the throne room, which could have easily seated ten times as many of them.

"Father," Gaäp suddenly piped up,looking up from his books. "Is it to be a male or a female?" He questioned cautiously, knowing about his father's intolerance to useless questions.

Lucifer stopped drumming on the armrest of his throne as he half glared at his second-born. "It is to be a male," he declared. "If it's anything, anything else, she would have failed me."

The she to whom he was referring to was the mother of his child, a pretty thing that had just the right intelligence and temperament to produce the perfect heir when combined with his genes. But the poor thing's health was frail, and the healers had predicted that she would most likely not survive to see her child grow.

The air in the room was tense, to say tthe least. The other children held varying degrees of affection for the woman, least of all Ipos, whose mother had been the one to be forced to make way for Lucifer's latest escort. He still resented her, and to a lesser extent his father for doing that.

It was at this moment that a healerhurried into the room, her face flushed from excitement and running.

"Your highness!" She called out, dropping to her knees at the foot of the throne. "Your child hath been born," she said in a tone of reverence, before it changed to one of intense regret and sadness. "But the queen... she did not survive the birth. She is in inferno now."

Theroom's tension only grew thicker, despite the others having already expected it. The older children lowered their heads slightly out of respect for the dead woman, and the younger children quietened down sensing the solemn air.

However, all that was heard from Lucifer was an annoyed tisk. "I did not ask for her condition," he spat viciously. "I asked about my heir. Now tell me how is my son!" He all but roared at the poor healer.

"M-My lord..." she stuttered weakly. "It is not a son, but a daughter that thou hath been blessed with," she squeaked, both scared to correct her lord but also scared to let sleeping dogs lie.

Immediately, Lucifer's eyes narrowed and his previously relaxed position tensed up. "A girl?" He snarled softly, glaring at the healer.

"Yes, my lord, bu-" Her attempts at explaining were cut short as her windpipe was crushed utterly by the demon lord's claws and thrown against the wall hard enough for it to crack. He let out a frustrated growl and swept down the hall to the birthing room.

"He certainly took that better than expected," Gaap mumbled, before burying himself into his studies again. Court matters honestly bored him

Vassego sighed as he looked at the remainder of his brothers, most sitting in calm silence, used to their father's sudden outbursts. Some of the little ones were more stunned than their older counterparts, toddling over to the fallen demoness.

"Don't touch that," he snapped sharply at them, before rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Meanie!" The young Ipos retorted at his brother, pouting at not being able to explore the corpse more. He stuck his tongue out at him, before walking off and sulking in a corner.

The other young children were not so brazen as to go against their eldest, and mutely shrank back.

"They won't last long," Orobas boldly proclaimed, looking up from where he was busy polishing his sword. A gift from his father for his five hundredth name day. "They have no spirit, no fighting resolve. They will die before the moon finishes her phase."

Seere, only about two hundred years older than Ipos, scoffed, though secretly agreed with him.

Vassego too, found himself nodding despite himself, then slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"Then I leave them to you and Seere's expert charge," He said, doing his best to keep the hint of sarcasm hidden. Before Orobas could think of a suitable retort, he disappeared after his father, more curious than anything.

Orobas sighed, and sat back, nonchalantly continuing to care for his weapons, the only thing he seemed to care for, really.

Seere, on the other hand, sat glaring at the little brats before him. The normally lively and playful toddlers kept their gaze lowered and quiet, for fear of angering their older brothers.

Vassego hurried after his father to the birthing room, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he hesitantly pushed open the door, only to come upon a scene of mass carnage, which would have made mortals, even the most hardened of them, turn tail and flee.

Scattered around the room were healers and midwives, their limp bodies laying on the ground amid pools of blood, faces frozen in their final expressions of horror and fear for eternity. Most of them had at least some of their appendages torn off, proof of Lucifer's bloodlust and sadism.

Vassego, however, was not disturbed, having grown up with his father's vicious temper, and then Orobas', he was used to seeing scenes of murder and gore when the mood struck either of them. It was what he saw next that made him freeze.

Lucifer stood in the middle of the piles of dead bodies, his beautiful face and hands smeared with blood. The lithe frame that Vassego and Ipos had inherited was bent slightly over his dead queen. Her face, unlike the other dead bodies in the room, was in a peaceful state of eternal rest. Her child lay beside her, a bloody pulp swaddled in a light grey blanket.

Lucifer, however, destroyed that image even more. His hand was plunged into the demoness' body, seeming rooting around for something. He had no respect for the deceased, muttering things under his breath as he worked.

Vassego was absolutely fascinated.

"Lord Father?" He questioned, hesitantly coming closer. "What are you doing?"

Lucifer looked up from his gruesome work for a moment to smile at his eldest child. "There were multiple foetuses," he explained. "Though this whore only managed to birth one before she died, killing the others with her. I-" he paused to pull out something.

A hideous, deformed foetus. He smiled as he examined it and found it decidedly male.

"But father..." The crown prince said hesitantly. "That child is dead, is it not?" He said, looking at his half deranged father for an explanation.

Lucifer smirked. "Dead for now, maybe," he said with a sideways look at him. "But that can be fixed. No. It will be fixed, soon enough. Summon the mages," he ordered him, holding the dead child with a thoughtful look on his face, the one he normally had on when a brilliant plan was forming in his mind.

Vassego knew that look well, and hurried off to find the mages without further comment. He was more than excited to be able to witness what was going to happen.

* * *

As the mages gathered about Lucifer, the demon lord looked at each of them calmly. Vassego, stood among them, having changed into the robes of an apprentice mage.

"Do you swear allegiance to me, and to do my bidding without comment or complaint?" He said, though his voice had taken on a royal, commanding tone that echoed throughout the room.

The younger mages flinched or were hesitant in nodding agreement, though the older ones easily gave fluid bows and assured their lord of their obedience unto him.

Suitably appeased, Lucifer nodded and produced the dead foetus to his mages, all of whom were now fully interested in what ingenious idea their lord might have.

"As you will know, I was supposed to have a suitable heir born," He started saying, looking at them haughtily in turn. "Unfortunately, the child that was supposed to be born died instead, and the female of the two was born. However," He paused slowly, "The foetus has been recovered. I'm sure you are all intelligent enough to figure out what I require of you, hmm?"

The mages all took a hesitant step back, save for Vassego. "B-But my lord," One stuttered, his voice low with hesitation. "Revival... Reincarnation is a dangerous process... And how are you so sure that this will turn into the child you want? What if it turns out to be something else altoge-"

The young one's words were cut off as his skull caved in, Lucifer's long, delicate digits wrapped around his skull, crushing it into a million pieces.

"Tch," He said, annoyed, as he straightened up and glared at the older mages accusingly. "I would highly _suggest _that you learn to pick your apprentices more wisely," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "Unless you want me to vet through them for you?"

The mages got the hint, and nodded without further comment.

Lucifer gave them a breezy smile, a rare sight indeed. "Good," He said easily, his voice noticeably lighter and gentler. "Then I leave it up to you then. Do not fail me," he added as a subtle warning, then turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

The sound of a bolt being slid into place assured the mages that there would be no leaving the room until this was complete.

Vassego let out a slightly annoyed sigh. How very like his father to do something like that.

Lucifer had retreated to his chambers after posting a guard outside the room, laying on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling lost in thought.

A slave came and politely knocked on the door, timidly awaiting his answer.

"Enter," The royal voice commanded, and instinctively the slave flinched. It was second nature to all the servants in the royal palace to be timid and submissive around the royal family, courtesy of months of solid brainwashing and various potions.

He entered quietly, keeping his gaze lowered and his back hunched. "Master," he said, his voice barely above a whispery rasp. "The mages wish fo-"

"Wish?" the demon lord snapped, sitting upright and narrowing his eyes. "Did you just say that they 'wish' for me to be brought to them? Like some common beast of burden?" His royal red eyes narrowed as he glared down his servant.

"Of course not, my lord," the servant hurriedly corrected himself, lowering his gaze even more, if that was possible. "They humbly request for your royal presence, my King," He said softly.

"Better," Lucifer growled, pushing himself to his feet and getting up to see what his mages had managed to do. As he brushed past the servant, he gave him a casual slap, not enough to kill him but certainly enough to remind him of his training. The servant, in turn, did nothing more than to flinch and whimper.

As Lucifer entered the chamber, he was hardly surprised to see the mages either passed out or dead, and his son standing calmly in the middle of the mess, holding a fully swaddled babe in his arms.

He walked over to him, and gave him an appreciative pat on the head before taking the child from him and proceeding to fully examine it, ensuring that it had the right spiritual signature and was, of course, the right gender.

He was not disappointed, the child was a healthy male, and apart from a slightly more ashen skin tone than his, was practically his spitting image.

"You have done well," He said to Vassego, turning to face him. "Now finish them, my son. No one else save for us can know how this child has come into being, for no one else can be allowed to attempt this."

Watching impassively as Vassego proceeded to skilfully murder them with grace and precision, he turned to the newborn child in his arms. The product of s many lives lost, a perfect child... For now.

As far as he was concerned, he would happily sacrifice half his armies for a child like this, one who could continue to rule hell if he were ever incapacitated. Obviously, he'd have to be kept on a tight leash to ensure that he didn't have any _interesting _ideas.

Lucifer smiled, and kissed the child's forehead just as the last mage collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Yes," He whispered softly. "Malphas. You will be my weapon."

* * *

As the child grew in both intelligence and grace, his father grew all the more wary of him, careful to keep him at a safe distance from him at all times and keeping him from forming lasting bonds by only allowing the child to see his brothers and changing the slaves that served him whenever possible.

He did, however, have more children, but only one seemed promising.

Surprisingly, the one promising one had come from a human whore that had taken Lucifer's fancy, and she had borne him a child. As soon as he had sensed his strong demonic energy, he had ordered the child to be taken from the woman, back into hell.

Naming the child Stolas, he had raised him carefully, but soon found him too timid and weak willed, and turned to focusing on Malphas once again.

On his five hundredth name day, Lucifer summoned the whole realm, royalty and otherwise, to hear a royal decree.

The lesser demon lords were rather excited to see what Lucifer had to decree, and so were there early with their numerous consorts and servants. The populace arrived later, though were just as excited and interested.

Standing atop a balcony and facing the crowd, Lucifer led Malphas out onto the balcony as well, his brothers standing on either side of him.

"I present to you, Prince Malphas of the Royal Bloodline, First of his name and the new crown Prince, Heir to the throne that I, Lord Lucifer, now hold," He thundered to the audience, who watched with a stunned silence before hesitantly, they all started to clap and cheer.

"Hail, Prince Malphas!" They eventually roared amidst the clapping, though truthfully, much of their attention was focused on Vassego, the once crown prince.

He stood quietly, noting that his little brother seemed confused as to what the ruckus was about. Inside, his heart had been broken. The father that he had practically worshipped had given his title to another without so much as an explanation or an apology.

And that hurt.

Watching Lucifer place the crown on his head, the child's happy smile, the common folk's clapping... It really was too much.

He turned and walked off the balcony in with as much dignity as he could manage, feeling Lucifer's icy glare on him as he brushed past him. It hurt him all the more, and as soon as he was in the hallway he bolted straight for his private chambers, which in truth seemed more like an apothecary, with various potion making ingredients, and spell books that his father had given to him.

"No doubt they'll be given to that brat, just like everything else I have. Well... Had," he muttered quietly, running his fingers over an elaborately carved spine of a book on reincarnation. He regretted everything.

And he felt that black seed of hate start to grow


	8. Forgotten past

Despite his best efforts, Sebastian could not contain a gasp at the drastic change of the atmosphere in Paradiso. The calm and tranquil air of heaven was shattered the moment he passed through those golden pearly gates, replaced by something of a more sedative, forced tranquility.

The pale blue orbs that had littered Heaven had literally disappeared, forced to turn away at the gates. Instead, Sebastian saw the most interesting creatures he had ever seen.

Tall, elegant, and sinfully beautiful, Sebastian saw the most gorgeous angels walking about near the gate. Their backs were turned but he could see their lean muscles hugged by their clothes, which were a curious mix between roman togas and traditional suits. Tall and with a panther-like hidden power, they radiated power and authority. That was only emphasized by the great white wings on their back, all of different shapes. Some were like bats, scaly and intimidating, while some were of doves, sft and welcoming to the touch. That gentle air was broken by the weapons hanging at their sides, ranging from swords to spears to bows and arrows. The one thing they all had in common was that they had orbs of pale blue light hanging somewhere on their weapons, some on the pommels of their sword while others on their spearheads.

"Who are they?" Sebastian whispered quietly, sensing that their power outmatched his own by far. Ash chuckled slightly, though as his spoke his own voice held a tone of reverence as well. "Dominions," He said softly, his voice surprisingly quiet and submissive. "They are the fourth most powerful angels in His Lord's service," he said quietly. "Hey, hey, are you listening?" He said, snapping his fingers irritably.

Sebastian's attention was immediately refocused on the Dominions as one of them turned his head to look at the newcomer. He hissed and stepped back, noticing the greenish gold colour of their eyes, and the trademark double iris of-

"Shinigami," he hissed quietly, narrowing his burgundy eyes. The Dominion, in turn, noticing his abrupt response, turned away to discuss him with his fellow angels. Ash let out a low chuckle hearing his reaction, though it was as fake as Sebastian first thought. "watch your tone," he warned, flicking the demon's ear, before dragging him away.

"But I don't understand," Sebastian protested as he was led away from them. "Why are there Shinigami in heaven? Why are they dressed like that? why don't they have glasses?" his questions were endless, and as soona s he asked one more filled his mind to replace them. He heard Ash le out an annoyed sigh. "listen," he said firmly. "They are not "shinigami", as you call them, they are _Dominions_. They serve the Lord's purpose to control whole nations. They're the ones that Shinigami, at least the highest ones, report to. In essence, they are the shinigami superiors that they always talk about," He finished with a small shrug.

"So shinigami are actually angels? Dominion or something?" The raven-haired demon said, rather puzzled still.

Ash sighed slightly. This was clearly a topic he didn't want to talk about. "I... Let us walk. I will allow Micheal to explain," he said finally, before setting off. Sebastian frowned, he sensed something extraordinary going on, and was both curious and frightened to find out more.

He had no choice, however, but to follow. The Archangel Micheal was about a fifteen minute walk away from the main gate to Paradiso. "My lord," Ash greeted softly, bowing from the waist and motioning subtly for Sebastian to do the same, to which he complied, albeit reluctantly.

"Rise," Micheal ordered in his smooth and velvety voice. "I see you have met the dominions," he murmured smoothly then chuckled as he saw Sebastian's confused look. "I hear all that happens in Paradiso. Being the loudest angel the Lord also granted me exceptional hearing. Well, Malphas, allow me to enlighten you on the true origin of shinigami," He said, before looking to Ash knowingly, who nodded and promptly disappeared from view to attend to his master's silent bidding. Then he motioned for Sebastian to sit down on sort of chaise lounge, made a snow white, with grey highlights. Sebastian obeyed, and looked up to him expectantly.

Micheal smiled softly, a natural ease and grace in the way he handled, well, everything. "Shinigami are Angels, that is correct," he said, further proving how exceptional his hearing was. "However, the reason they do not reside in heaven but inside what is known as the Shinigami realm is a much lesser known story," he said, looking away in the directions of where the Dominions were.

"When Mor- Lucifer, excuse me, first fell," he said, taking a deep breath as if to steady himself. "When he fell and took the other rebellious angels with him, we wanted to send Dominions to their assigned nations, to guard against his added temptation and fear that he would undoubtedly strike into their hearts. However," he said with another wistful sigh, running a hand through his pale hair. "Some of them protested, feeling that Lucifer was still a brother. Most noticeably was one known as Aeon,who had more affection for him that is proper. He... indulged in a frankly appalling affair with him, and though was left heartbroken at the end of it, still carried the same love as he had had at the beginning. He rallied a few other Dominion, and set out to form a new group of beings, calling themselves the shinigami. The Lord bid us pay them no mind, for they had already agreed to our terms. The reap souls, and sort them, sending them to either Heaven or Hell, and keeping those who were neither here nor there in their great libraries," He finished with another wistful sigh.

"He was a great angel, tall and powerful," he added in a quiet murmur, lost in memories of the past. "Aeon was... He was valuable to us, always kept our spirits up, even when we lost hope in humanity, he always laughed," He said quietly, with yet another sigh.

Sebastian listened, and though he didn't say anything, his confused expression was more than enough. "This... Aeon..." he said quietly, hesitant about asking questions. "Is he still alive?"

Micheal blinked, he had not been expecting that particular question at all. He nodded slowly, a small smile starting to grace his lips. "you've met him too," he said with a light chuckle, only adding to Sebastian's confusion. "I have?" he asked slowly, racking his brain for any inkling of when he might have met Aeon. He simply couldnt think of anyone called Aeon.

"Of course," Micheal said with a quiet sigh. "Like those who fell, even if he never fully surrendered his powers, he was tainted by lust, and wrath. he turned against his superiors, and the lord. He left, and never returned. Come," he said softly. "You have to see this first." Taking a deep breath again, he motioned for Sebastian to follow him before walking a little distance away into a temple like building. Ash stood in the entrance, a slightly irked look as Sebastian crossed the threshold of the place, closely followed by Micheal, who gave him a quiet smile to appease him.

Walking into the artistic piece of masonry, Sebastian froze in shock, for all around him, hung in glass cases and arranged in a giant circle like obscure trophies, there were wings. Not white like the Dominion's or Micheal's, but they were a dirty shade of grey, most mottled with black spots.

Sebastian moved through the room, observing each one. Though they varied in shape and size, each seemed to emate a familiar scent. That of demons or shinigami. He turned to Micheal for an explanation, for by now he could have sworn that that man could read his mind.

Micheal shook his head, and instead pointed to the crowning piece of the room, a pair of gorgeous black wings, not unlike Sebastian's own. However, there was one major difference as he noticed when he stepped closer.

Wiping the slight layer of dust and grime away, Sebastian noticed one area of the wing, near the wingtip, there was a single pure white spot, no bigger than the size of a teacup.

"Your father's," Micheal said quietly, appearing behind him. Sebastian turned and stared at him in shock. "Father's?" he whispered. "Lord Lucifer? Why...?"

Micheal looked to Ash, then back at Sebastian. "Like all angels who fell, he and the other demons had their wings cut off as a sign of their falling, and the more tainted an Angel's wings become, the further they fall. Lucifer fell the first and the most, followed by the others..."

"But the scent of shinigami..." Sebastian said softly, cocking his head slightly in confusion as his burgandy eyes met the angel's baby blue ones.

"Those were from the few that agreed to follow Aeon to become shinigami. As you can tell, they gave up thier wings, and are mostly not tainted, save for Aeon's himself. he allowed his love and lust for Lucifer lead him astray and act in rebellion." He pointed one long, slender finger towards a pair of white wings, or at least he thought they were white.

Upon closer inspection he realized they were a shining grey, not like the others, and instead there were clear splotches of black on them, though the wingtips remained clear of any of the black colouring. "Aeon's wings," Micheal murmured, "Beautiful, aren't they?" He added in a quiet whisper, and Sebastian found himself nodding. The wings were a beautiful silver, like the colour of freshly fallen snow, he found himself thinking.

"They used to have the purest Wings in the realm," Ash added in a low whisper. "Then of course, everything happened..." Micheal nodded in approval, then sighed and pointed to the one white spot on Lucifer's wings. "One can only imagine what part of him remains pure," he said thoughtfully. "I would say it was love to Aeon, but obviously with their falling out that's not very likely, is it?" He added with a small chuckle.

Ash went up to him. "The preparations have been made to cleanse him, sire," he murmured softly in his ear. it was unusual to see the usually cocky Ash acting so submissive to someone else and Sebastian had to resist the urge to laugh. Micheal nodded and started walking to the exit, expecting Sebastian to follow, keeping up a running narration as they walked back into the streaming sunlight.

"Though of course the Lord expected Aeon to leave. Still though... his departure left a deep wound in both the Angelic realms."

Hearing this, Sebastian was starting to grow irked with the roundabout that angels addressed practically everything. "I asked if he was still alive," he said, clearing his throat slightly and trying not to seem too rude.

"Right... Yes, he is alive, and he now partakes in a fitting profession, having abandoned the shinigami as well. " He said, then a small smirk appeared.

"I do believe you know him as the Undertaker," He said softly, his steps not even slowing in the slightest

Burgundy eyes widened. "Undertaker?" he whispered in shock. His mind reeled. His father, Lord Lucifer, fallen angel and darkest of all angels, had had an affair with the creepy old coot Undertaker? And they had both been angels, not only angels, but the purest as well?

Ash chuckled noticing his conflicting emotions, which strangely seemed to be happening a lot lately, and Sebastian had to resist the urge to punch his smug face in the jaw.

"Don't judge everyone by how they first act or look," Micheal's quiet words floated over to him, startling him out of his increasingly violent thoughts. "Aeon is not as imbecilic as he may seem at times. He was the only one who ever beat Metatron in a one on one duel, a reckless move no doubt," he said with a casual grin. "Though," He added with a slight smirk. "He might have had help from Lucifer."

Sebastian found himself smiling a little despite himself. Micheal seemed to be the complete opposite of Ash, putting him at ease and lowering his guard. He quietly warned himself to be more careful in future and not to let that happen to often.

As he heard the beautiful archangel let out another sigh, his attention was once again refocused on him, hoping, albeit unconsciously, for another bit of information to add to the mystery that was his father's past.

"Aeon repayed his debt, as he always does," Micheal said in a low whisper, gently fingering the sword by his side, it's hilt and highlights shining a pale gold while the other parts were a gentle white hue, like the colour of freshly fallen snow. Like all things associated with angels it too emanated with a soft and gentle warmth.

"When Lucifer was set to be outcast..." Micheal began uncertainly, suddenly looking guilty and filled with regrets, causing Sebastian's interest to spike. "When he was set to fall, he, like the angels that were to follow him, was reluctant to surrender his wings and thus... I had to... Had to use force," He mumbled out the last part, his eyes clouded over with memory and guilt as his grip suddenly tightened on the sword.

"What are you talking about?" Sebastian whispered in shock, his eyes darting between the angel's face and his sword which he clung to so desperately.

"I... I..." Micheal said quietly, then stopped himself as Ash lay a quiet hand on him, not saying anything, but giving a knowing look. Micheal took a few moments to compose himself before looking up. "Of course," he said evenly, after a few deep breaths. "Forgive me, Malphas, but I was the one who drove your father out of heaven, and in the process, wounded Aeon and him both."

Taking Sebastian's stunned silence as a motion to continue, he steeled himself and carried on. "The Lord Father charged me with driving out Lucifer and his followers. When Lucifer refused to surrender his tainted wings gracefully, the Lord bestowed upon me a sacred sword, Demissione, the sword of Death. It is the only sword that can ever truly kill us. This sword to be exact," he whispered quietly, glancing down at it.

"To be honest Lucifer was not the first to fall. The first to be tainted, yes, but he was actually the last to fall, the one who stood up the Lord Father longer than the others dared to. The sword was given to me as a last resort, to hopefully be able to threaten him enough to make him leave Paradiso without a fight. I had never been so wrong," He whispered quietly.

"Lucifer toyed with me as I advanced, mocking me about my blind loyalty toward the Heavenly Father and my suppressed emotions. He promised me release from it, to be able to fulfill my wildest dreams, he tempted me and played with me as we danced with swords. The sword of Annihilation has a sister sword, and Lucifer had stolen that one. Vitae, sword of Life. Ironic, isn't it?" He said with a hollow chuckle.

"Just as I managed to parry him and knock Vitae from his hands and was preparing to stab him, figuring that it was easier than leaving him to his own devices in Hell, someone stepped between Lucifer and the blade. Rather, he used himself as a human shield. Can you guess who it was, demon?" He asked with an unusually mocking smile and a slightly challenging tone.

"Aeon," Sebastian guessed instinctively, eliciting a nod from the archangel.

"That fool threw himself in front of the blade and it cut his face. So beautiful was it, that I was guilty to no end. He had been an innocent, tainted by lust and love for the one person that he should have never started an affair with. that, at least, was what I felt after the foul deed had been down, but at that point in time, I was furious, and more determined than ever to cut him and Lucifer down together. As he fell back with a cry, I prepared to deliver a killing blow, Lucifer kicked me and threw my aim off, the wound was not quite as deep as to kill him, but certainly was enough to scar him for life, as was the first. A... Aeon never forgave me for that." He added in a hushed whisper.

"At first I thought it was because I had come close to mortally wounding him, and even as he and the other Dominion left to form the shinigami, I still thought that was the reason. At the time, I also thought that his betrayal of heaven was the reason that I had come to hate him so much. I was wrong on both ends," He admitted softly.

"I came to find, after many centuries of quiet reflection and, I'm ashamed to admit, brooding, when I came to realise that it was because of Aeon's daring to defy rules and regulations, just to protect the one he cared so much about. That daring was something I would never be able to have, as much as I might want to. He, in turn, had been so angry, because I had spared not one single thought, not one at all, to the person that I had once called brother, the one that I had laughed with, and cried with. I disregarded all that, and for what?" he said in a choked whisper, causing Ash to once again step forward and supply a comforting hand to him.

"Because I was commanded to," he whispered. "Because someone ordered me to, and I didn't question them. I merely obeyed orders and disregarded anything and everything else. That was what Aeon has been angry about all these years."

"But why does it matter?" Sebastian asked, puzzled. "If you merely obeyed orders... If fath- I mean, Lucifer, had once been a brother, I can understand, but what I don't understated is that why Undertaker would take those bonds so seriously," he finished off.

A sad little smile greeted his words. "You do not understand, Malphas," He said softly. "When I was in training to be an archangel, Lucifer was my partner and friend. I... I always had feelings towards him," he said, a little awkwardly. "I loved him, more than a brother, more than what was appropriate. But when I saw Aeon with him, I... I gave up. I suppressed everything and became a mindless worker, one of many who did as asked and no more, no less. When I was battling with Lucifer, all that hate and jealousy... I allowed it to seep through me and taint me as I wielded Demissione, and I did not think rationally. what Aeon was truly angry and frustrated about was that I had no control over my emotions, that I had become unable to think and defend my ideals."

Sebastian listened, stunned, and finally nodded. "I see," he said quietly, unsure of what was appropriate to say.

"Majesty," Ash's cool, clipped voice interrupted them. "Lord Metatron is waiting for you and the demon. Pray let us hasten," He said, and Micheal nodded, giving a sort of half smile at sebastian.

"Enough talk of the past for now, Malphas," he said, as he sped up slightly. "Ash is right, we have kept Metatron waiting for far too long," he added as he turned away and walked faster.

And as he turned, Sebastian managed to see a small cluster of black feathers on his wings.

* * *

Okay... so a few author's notes, just to clear a few things up.

first off... Dominions. They are called Dominion or Lordships, but dominion sounded nicer in my head. Anyways, they are described as to "regulate the duties of lower angels", "rare to show themselves to humans, but preside over nations whole" and have "Orbs of light fastened to their spearheads and pommels of their swords" So my brain just went, Well... what if they were shinigami? At least,t he original shinigami. Most of this chapter stemmed from there

Next...the angel hierarchy. I've listed them here from most powerful to least. Seraphim, then Cherubim, Thrones or Ophenim, Dominions or Lordships, Virtues or stongholds, Powers or authorities, Principalities or rulers, archangels, and finally, angels. Strange, isn't it?

Oh oh oh! one more thing. People have been asking about the reasoning ehind the names of everyone here. Well... I always liked the name Malphas, and besides, Malphas in the Goetia is used to described to take on a form of a crow or raven, which I found suited him well.

As for Undertaker being named Aeon, I figured that since Aeon means "time" or "ageless" in some contexts, also because Aeon has been described as extremely tall and handsome, why not Undertaker?

well, that should be it for now. Please do leave a review and tell em what you think. Is it too messy? disorganized? weird? If there's anything you still don't get, do leave a review and I'll explain it in the next chapter or so

And finally, once again, thank you for deciding to stick to my story :)


	9. Rebirth

As Sebastian walked forward with Micheal, his mind buzzed with new questions. Micheal, his father's sworn enemy, had been tainted as well? He shook himself, trying to make sense of that thought. It was impossible, he thought quietly, then another part of his brain refuted that immediately.

_You're merely refusing to accept the fact that your last hope of survival might be falling into your father's hands once again._

"Shut up," He swore quietly, causing Micheal to turn around and give him a slightly concerned look. "Are you well, Malphas?" He asked softly, his cerulean eyes watching him carefully.

Sebastian, taken aback by that question, instinctively nodded, though changed his mind a moment later and shook his head. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then pointed a slender finger at the angel's wing. "I merely... I thought I saw a black feather or two on your wings, Miche- Sire," He corrected himself quickly.

Micheal's face paled ever so slightly as he heard that. But his features contrasted that, as he cocked his head slightly as if he had misheard or misinterpreted what Sebastian had just said.

"I beg your pardon?" He said quietly, blinking. "Are you possibly suggesting I'm tainted?" he said, and for the first time since he'd met him Sebastian sensed anger in his voice, no matter how layered it was.

"N-No, of course not, I mean..." And for the first time in his life, Prince Malphas was at a lost for words. "I didn't mean to offend," he added quietly. he couldn't afford offending the person who might be able to offer him solstace. He had recently figured out that Ash had next to no power in heaven.

Micheal sighed, then silently turned himself so that his back was once again facing Sebastian and spread his wings wide. "Mayhaps it was a mistake," he said calmly, his usual warmth in his voice once again.

Sebastian blinked quietly, not believing his eyes. The black feathers had all but disappeared, once again replaced by the snow white feathers common to most angels.

"You may touch them if you wish," Micheal said with a small sigh. "To convince and put yourself at ease," He added,

Hesitantly, Sebastian stepped forward and hesitantly touched the wings. In truth, he had expected some sort of trickery, a visual spell maybe. everyone knew that demons and angels alike prided themselves on beauty, and as such had highly advanced magic suited to their needs. Though pretty illusions were all good and well, though had one notoriously unable to withstand close inspection, and normally fell away as soon as they were touched.

However, the angel's feathers stayed resolutely white, and and after a few minutes of careful probing, Sebastian sighed and relented.

"Please accept my apologies," He said quietly, making sure to keep his voice carefully subdued and apologetic as he stepped back to give the angel some space.

Micheal shook his head, though he still looked slightly hurt. "Of course it's to be expected that you'd be suspicious," he said quietly, starting to walk again. "But to accuse me... Malphas... surely you ought to know better than that?" he chided gently, and the barely veiled note of warning was not lost on him.

"O-Of course," Sebastian replied meekly, though he was quietly seething. Who was this angel to talk to him in such a manner.

But then again, who was he to seethe and be angered by this angel's insolence? No longer was he Prince Malphas, to be feared by all creatures, immortal and otherwise. Now he was merely an outcast, left to beg and hope for mercy and assistance. And from angels, of all creatures. Oh, how he was _loathe _to be in their company, but he really had no choice. And all things considered, they hadn't actually treated him too badly.

And that only made him all that more bitter.

Nearly running into Micheal as he stopped abruptly, Sebastian was pulled from his thoughts as he saw Micheal drop to his knees, and bowed to a pair of... feet?

Sebastian, confused beyond words, failed to bow and instead looked up at the figure, a massive humanoid being sitting upon a beautiful throne, seemingly made out of clouds. His skin looked strangely like it was made of bronze, glinting dully in the eternal light of Paradiso. Sebastian's eyes widened slightly as he looked closer and realized that his seemingly smooth and flawless body was actually made out of tiny gears and the like, all painted the same shade of copper, at the same time magnificent and beautiful, but yet gave him an almost human, almost mortal feel.

At close to three meters (by Sebastian's rough estimate) that angel absolutely towered over him, and much to his surprise, he could feel actual life force emanating from it.

The angels pale eyes swept over him coolly, regarding him with a calm neutrality. "You are Malphas?" He asked in a voice that was somewhat metallic and sonourous, easily ringing about the entire area without him seeming to have to put in a lot of effort, yet despite that was strangely monotonous and sounded slightly dead, as if the angel itself had no wish to speak.

Sebastian, after a slight pause, inclined his head in acknowledgement, though refused to bow to him still. "And you are Metatron?" he asked calmly, though his mind buzzed with questions.

The angel inclined his head regally, the gears shifting slightly though not making any sound whatsoever.

"Are you the one to be cleansed?" He questioned quietly, his pale eyes, in actuality not more than two shimmering orbs of light, like the souls Sebastian had seen floating about earlier, sweeping across him and making silent observations.

"Yes, sire," Sebastian said, deciding it best to swallow his pride. Metatron nodded again, his gleaming face still a mask- literally.

He inclined his head again, then slowly raised a polished hand and pointed to an area near him.

In a burst of movement, lesser angels appeared, and a great wall, seemingly made out of clouds, though solid enough when sebastian placed a hand to it, sprung out of the ground like a panther pouncing on its prey.

Micheal flew up to Metatron's great face, his wings flapping gently and gracefully as he listened to his instruction, before nodding and going to Sebastian, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Yous have to repent to become cleansed," He said softly, his face bearing a pained expression as he shared that piece of news.

"Repent?" Sebastian said quietly, cocking his head slightly. A soft clinking sound greeted his words, and as he spun around, he saw Ash, a slightly distasteful look on his face, holding some very heavy chains in his hands. On top of that, he had a heavy leather crop, and Sebastian slowly stepped back as he saw the sacred runes inscribed on the whip itself.

Oblivious to the demon's discomfort, Ash set about attaching the chains to the wall and then double checking them, keeping up a steady commentary as he worked.

"Normally this is Angela's job," he said, some level of resentment in his voice. "I never understood how she managed to take so much enjoyment in someone else's pain," he mused, then laughed hollowly. "Come now Malphas," He said, holding up a length of chain. "You must pay for your sins in one form or another," he said, somewhat impatiently.

Sebastian nodded quietly, and stepped forward, trying to cast his doubts aside. Ash tightened the binds around his limbs, and chained his wings securely to the wall. "Sorry," Micheal said with a apologetic smile, watching what Ash was doing.

Sebastian hesitantly tested his bonds, but to his dismay he found that he was unable to break free from them, the runes written on their edges glowed softly as he strained lightly against them.

"Is this truly the only way?" he asked, hearing his voice waver slightly and quietly berating himself. Ash and Michael nodded simultaneously, but Michael paused to think for a bit before shaking his head. sebastian's eyes lit up with hope.

"There is one other way," Michael said with a teasing smirk. "But it involves stripping naked and being a humble geisha for a millennia," He said, struggling to contain his laughter.

Sebastian rolled his eyes slightly, then quietly stopped struggling, at least until Ash pulled the chains around his wings too tightly, and hurt his already injured wings even further. He gasped, his mind automatically reeling back to when his brothers had had him in a similar situation, and his wings flapped, struggling to be free, not wanting a repeat of that situation.

With a sickening crack sound, Sebastian's great black wings tore themselves, right down the middle. Blood trickled from the open wound, though that soon turned into a large flow. Sebastian's already pale complexion turned all the paler.

"Let me go!" He screamed, completely losing his calm and composure as he struggled against his bonds. Surprised, Ash stepped back and dropped the chains.

Immediately, Sebastian took this opportunity and freed himself, leaping back and doing his best to mask the absolute agony he was in. "What the hell am I doing being tied up like a dog?" He snarled at them, glaring daggers a them. "Who are you? Mere angels," he spat at them. "How _dare_ you do such a thing to me. I am a Prince of Darkness, and you shall learn to fe-"

His angry ran was cut off when he found that he could no longer speak, or move, for that matter. The three angels looking at him had a variety of expressions on their face, ranging from Ash's smug look of satisfaction, to Michael's quiet disapproval, and Metatron's cool indifference.

His eyes darting around helplessly, Sebastian realised that Metatron had his hand raised, and it was obvious he was the one responsible for his stupefied state.

Metatron's eyes swept over to Ash, silently ordering him to do his bidding. Ash grinned wickedly, and stepped forward, mere inches away from Sebastian. "You forget yourself," He said with a mocking smile, gripping his chin tightly, his nails digging into the soft, perfect flesh until it drew a bit of blood. "Mere angels, you say?" he added, cocking his head and looking at him pitifully.

"And what are you?" he said, before laughing hollowly. "A filthy demon, a prince you might once have been," he hissed viciously. "But now you are little more than game to your brothers, and all the other demons in Hell and Inferno," He added, then his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "And here you are trying to act superior to us? Pathetic," He hissed.

Sebastian personally felt it was lucky that Metatron's spell prevented him from speaking, or he would have made Ash rue the moment those words had left his lips. Instead, he glared at him, focusing all his hatred accumulated over the many centuries he had lived onto that angel's not-so-angelic face.

Michael stepped forward just then, putting a restraining hand on Ash's shoulder. "You forget yourself too," he said softly, his voice holding a faint hint of... Was it disappointment? Sebastian couldn't be sure.

"You have only just redeemed yourself as an angel, and you were fallen for quite a while," he reminded Ash sternly. "Metatron only bid you to bind him again, not to act otherwise," he snapped slightly. "Now do your job and bind him back up," he said, before stepping back and resting his weight on one foot, his hand conspicuously drumming a pattern into the hilt of Demissione as he calmly watched Ash.

Ash dragged Sebastian's frozen form back to the wall, and bound him securely to it, Sebastian's body obeying even the lightest touches, as if he were a feather.

Noticing Sebastian's increasingly panicked glances around, Michael smirked cruelly. "You don't honestly think we're just going to let you go, do you?" he asked. "You might be our key to finally beating Lucifer once and for all," he added with a smirk, quietly reveling in the thought of being victorious.

"That, and, when you agreed to join us, those words were as binding as the contract you have to one Ciel Phantomhive," He chuckled as he said the next part. "Though," he said with a thoughtful look. "Unlike your contract with the little Earl, that little agreement you had, can't be broken."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, and it was obvious without words what he meant: The contract is unbreakable.

"It is breakable, my dear Malphas," Michael said with a quiet chuckle. "It just inflicts agonising pain on the demon that breaks it, and the contract as well," He smiled.

"But you have to learn to let go of past commitments to continue... To learn to be wholly devoted to Our Lord, and no other, especially a mortal," He said calmly, and Sebastian's eyes widened. So he couldn't become one of them if he was still contracted to Ciel? Well, that was perfectly fine with him. He'd cling to that contract for his life.

As if sensing his thoughts, Metatron turned his monstrous head towards him. "Do not fear, Malphas," he said again in his strangely disjointed voice. "We will help you free yourself from the chains of being a contracted demon, so you can devote yourself to the lord as one of the chosen, like how I ascended in days of old," He said, then looked at the heavy whip in Ash's hands. "Break him," he commanded quietly, and Ash pounced forward, lashing Sebastian elegantly.

As part of the ritual, Metatron soon released Sebastian from his stupefied state, though kept a careful watch on him. He needn't have bothered, as Sebastian had just barely managed to calm himself enough to process his thoughts rationally, and decided that he was too valuable for the angels to kill, if only he could survive their sick and twisted rituals.

He hoped that the angels were actually intelligent enough to know how much would actually kill him.

Those insolent - The whip came down once, splitting the air with a sickening _crack._

Damned arrogant - Another _crack__. _The whip was raised again, and came down again.

Bloody pieces of - The whip came down once more, and yet again. Seemingly never ending, a barrage of sharp _cracks _and a world of hurt.

He could feel his tendons slowly snapping, and the agonizing feel of the heavy whip biting into his bone and leaving a stinging mark.

He'd never give in... He was Prince Malphas, heir to the throne of Hell... He would never... He would never... Never give in...

The world started to spin, and he felt sick, his senses starting to dull and colours started to blend together, the smell of iron and blood overwhelming the little sense of he smell he still had. One eye was close, bloody and cut.

But, why was he resisting in the first place? If he just gave in... If he just accepted that he needed these angels...

_No, _a quiet part of his brain said stubbornly. _I will not be one of God's mindless puppets... I will not!_

And so he resisted, the Faustian contract on the dorsal side of his hand stayed there, glowing softly in quiet rebellion. This enraged Ash, and the strength of the lashes grew as a result. Michael and Metatron stayed out of it, knowing about Ash and his surprising amount of sadism they stood back, conversing quietly.

Finally, out of sheer weariness, Sebastian's resolves wavered slightly, and Ash took full advantage of that, redoubling his efforts.

As his eyelids drooped and he felt the world spinning away into oblivion, Sebastian mentally whispered a quiet apology to Ciel.

_I failed you._

_~xox~_

* * *

Alright, explanation time.

But before that, I was thinking, would it help you, the readers (thank you!) for me to put in a little explanation after each chapter? Just maybe.. a few terms, my thoughts when writing this, and of course, character explanations? Do let me know in the reviews, and feel free to PM me if you're shy :)

Okay... Metatron. A very, very tall angel, and the first to be created. Some people consider him to be the Prophet Elijah, who has ascended to heavem, and therefore the first angel. Him being made out of metal doesn't really have much significance. That idea mostly came from most people confusing Metatron and _ Megatron _(from the Transformers series) and the first thought when I heard that over and over again was, why not sort of link them together... So that's how you have a metallic angel.

That's about it for now, but do feel free to PM me or review if you found anything wrong with this chapter


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